The First Cross-Device Android Services Have Already Launched
One of the benefits of Android is the ability to choose your own device: if you don’t like Google Pixel phones, you can try something from Samsung, OnePlus, Nokia – whatever you like. However, the downside to this freedom is that it limits how these different Android devices work together: if you have a Samsung phone and a Google tablet, the two Android devices work fine separately, but you won’t get the same experience. -device functionality you would expect from a closed platform like Apple.
This is where Google’s ” cross-device services ” come into play. With this initiative, Google aims to enable compatible Android devices from different manufacturers to share data and functionality with each other. Just like you can transfer a FaceTime call from your iPhone to your Mac, you’ll be able to start a video call on your Galaxy phone and answer it from your Pixel tablet; If you want to automatically connect your tablet to your phone’s hotspot, you can do so.
The first two features—call broadcasting and Internet sharing —are already being rolled out . According to Google, call casting works in some apps for moving calls between devices, and internet sharing works with both Chromebooks and Android devices.
However, this initial rollout is still limited: while call casting works on devices from different manufacturers, web casting doesn’t work with Samsung devices. Google doesn’t explain why, but if you have a Samsung device and a Pixel device, you’ll need to use the Auto Hotspot feature instead.
How to enable cross-device services on Android
To start, all the devices you want to use these services on must be signed in to the same Google account. Make sure this is the case before you continue. These devices must also be running Android 11 and must have Bluetooth turned on.
Then go to Settings > Google > Devices & Sharing > Cross-Device Services on each device you want to set up. On the Set up cross-device services screen, click Next . From here, you’ll configure your “device group” to serve multiple devices. This page will show you all the eligible Android devices you have under this Google account that can be individually added to a group to use these services. Click OK and Android will add the current device to the group.
From here, you can manage service settings for multiple devices, including switches to turn call broadcasting, Internet sharing, and services across devices in general on or off. When Google introduces new services across devices in the future, they will appear here.