Google rolls out Tap to Share for Pixel with Android 17

Two Android smartphones lie edge to edge, their NFC coils touch, and the exchange begins. With Google Play services version 26.32, Google is now rolling out Tap to Share, called “Zum Teilen antippen” in German, initially to Pixel smartphones from the Pixel 6 onward running Android 17.

The feature is designed for more than contact details: users can also transfer images, videos, locations, web links and documents. NFC stands for the wireless technology that allows devices to communicate over very short distances. According to heise online, an initial test with two newsroom devices running the latest Google Play services worked.

The launch is initially limited to a small number of devices. Google plans to make Tap to Share available “soon” for the Samsung models Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Fold 8 and Flip 8, and to distribute the feature to more Android devices “by the end of the year.” The service is therefore still in an ongoing rollout, rather than being a feature available across Android.

At the same time, Google is expanding the connection between Android smartphones and the Googlebooks expected this autumn. The new Android-based laptops will be able to run or use smartphone apps directly. Their file browser will also allow users to open files from a smartphone; “Quick access” is intended to make it easier to display, browse and insert those files.

What this specifically changes for users: A compatible Pixel will be able to share content with another supported smartphone through a brief touch. Google has left open what the still-unspecified beta features of “Cross Devices Services” will look like. The update also includes a “Find people” app for Wear OS, a Wallet update for digital proof of age, new Play Store navigation, and security and privacy patches for Android WebView.