At CES today, Google has revealed its ambition to make our various devices work better together, with new platform-agnostic features that will make it easier to switch between devices throughout the day. A lot of the announcements Google made today are about the Android/Chrome OS ecosystem, with new features to quickly set up, connect, or unlock devices, but the company is working on new Android/Windows synergies as well.
“For the first time with Android, we’re also focused on building for other platforms, like Windows, whether it’s in gaming, productivity or other areas. For example, by connecting your Android phone to your Windows PC with Fast Pair, you’ll be able to quickly set up Bluetooth accessories, sync text messages and share files with Nearby Share,” Google explained today.
There are not a lot of details about these upcoming Android/Windows synergies for now, but Google said that it’s currently working with Acer, HP, and Intel to “bring these experiences to select Windows PCs first later this year.” Microsoft has already taken some steps to make Android phones connect to Windows PCs with the Your Phone app, though the company has made some Your Phone features exclusive to high-end Samsung Galaxy phones. Other apps like Dell Mobile Connect aren’t exactly device-agnostic either.
Android is the most popular mobile operating system by far while Windows continues to dominate the PC market, but users of both platforms may be a bit envious of Apple’s ability to make iPhones, iPads, Macs, Airpods, etc. work seamlessly together. It remains to be seen if Google’s new initiative will finally make the life of Android and Windows users a bit easier, but the company still deserves credit for doing something Apple is likely never going to do for iPhone and PC users.
