What you need to know
- Google has officially released Nearby Share for Windows users, making it easy to share files between your phone and computer.
- The app has been previously available through a beta program, giving Google time to work out any bugs.
- You can download Nearby Share for Windows now, provided that you aren't using an ARM device.
The wait is finally over, as Google has officially launched and released the Nearby Share for Windows application. Google began teasing the ability to seamlessly transfer files from the best Android phones to your Windows computer back at CES 2022. But it wasn't until March 2023 that the Nearby Share beta app was made available.
Along with transferring photos and files from your Android phone to pretty much any Windows computer, Google has added a couple of new features. One of the primary complaints of the beta app was the inability to determine how long a file (or files) would take to transfer. This has been remedied with the official release, as the Nearby Share app on your computer will show you how much data has been transferred and how much longer it will take.
Google also added an image preview that appears when the transfer has been completed. The image will pop up in the notification, along with a simple "Open" button.
Nearby Share has been available across Android devices, and even Chromebooks, for a few years. But Windows computers have been left out of the fray, with users needing to rely on other solutions such as Phone Link or just plugging your phone into your computer.
This has definitely been a long time in the making, especially when you consider how long AirDrop has been around for iPhone and Mac users. Thankfully, you no longer need to try and upload your pictures to a cloud service, open the app on your computer, and wait for them to download. Now, just you can just use Nearby Share and transfer files between your phone and computer seamlessly.
