Google claimed the company is launching a new cross-device software development kit (SDK) with the tools developers need to make their apps work well on Android devices and eventually on non-Android phones, tablets, TVs, cars and other devices.
The SDK should allow developers to use their apps to do three key things: discover nearby devices, establish secure connections between devices and host the app’s experience across multiple devices. According to Google, its cross-device SDK uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ultra-broadband to provide multi-device connectivity support.
Google describes various use cases for the cross-device SDK in its blog post, and it looks like it could come in handy in many situations. For example, the cross-device SDK can allow multiple users on different devices to order together and select food from a menu, it can also allow users to switch from a phone to a tablet from where an article is paused, and it even allows passengers in a car to share a specific map location with the vehicle’s navigation system.
It almost sounds like an extension of the Nearby Share feature, which enables Android users to transfer files to devices using Chrome OS and others running Android. In April, noted developer Mishaal Rahman spotted Google’s upcoming Nearby Share update, which will allow users to quickly share files on devices that are signed into Google. Google also said during its CES 2022 keynote that it will bring Nearby Sharing to Windows devices later this year.
The latest cross-device SDK is currently only available as a developer preview and is only available on Android phones and tablets for now. Google eventually hopes to expand support to “other Android interfaces and non-Android operating systems,” including iOS and Windows, but there’s no specific timeline yet. Since the feature is still in its early stages, we may not see apps running across devices between iOS and Android in the near future.
