Google launches AirDrop rival on Windows

Google has launched a beta of its Nearby Share app for Windows, allowing users of the PC operating system to quickly send files between their computers and Android smartphones or tablets.

Nearby Share was first launched on Android phones and Chromebooks in 2020.

It uses a combination of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and mobile data to transmit data directly between devices at a much faster speed than Bluetooth alone.

Unlike apps like Wetransfer, Dropbox, and Google’s Drive service, Nearby Share allows sending files without consuming data.

The beta is open to users in most countries with a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC and can be downloaded from the Android.com website.

Once installed, users can share their files by dragging and dropping them into the app or by right-clicking on them and selecting “Send with Nearby Share”.

For added convenience, Nearby Share can be set to run in the background so that you don’t have to open the app every time.

Files will also be accepted automatically as long as the user is logged into their Google account on both devices, even if the recipient’s screen is turned off.

Illustration of file being sent from Android smartphone to Windows PC using the Nearby Share app

Nearby Share is Google’s very late rival for Apple AirDrop, which was first launched in 2011.

AirDrop allows Apple users to quickly and easily send files between their iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Before Nearby Share’s launch on Windows, users of Microsoft’s operating system would have required a Samsung device to benefit from faster file-sharing speeds through Samsung’s proprietary Quick Share feature.

But Quick Share has not been as fast as AirDrop.

Testing by In Depth Tech Reviews found that Quick Share could send a 1GB file between two smartphones in just over 31 seconds, while Nearby Share took between 18 to 20 seconds, similar to AirDrop speeds.

Nearby Share also comes with more options to save data by using Wi-Fi-only or No Internet modes.

An early tester of the Nearby Share beta has found that sending files from a Windows 11 PC to his Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra achieved 25 megabytes per second transfer speeds — slightly slower than In Depth Tech Reviews’ previous results.

However, the tester complained that the reverse operation — sending from Android to Windows — performed poorly, achieving a maximum of 150kbps.

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