Google opens door for Android apps that work across all devices

Washington: American tech giant Google has been trying to make it easier for developers to create Android apps that connect across a range of devices.

According to The Verge, Google, in a Blogspot explained that they are launching a new cross-device software development kit (SDK) that contains the tools developers need to make their apps play nice across Android devices, eventually non-Android phones, tablets, TVs, cars, and more. The SDK is supposed to let developers do three key things with their apps: discover nearby devices, establish secure connections between devices, and host an app's experience across multiple devices.

According to Google, its cross-device SDK uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband to deliver multi-device connectivity.
Google has described various use cases for its cross-device SDK on its documentation page and it looks like it could come in handy in several scenarios. For example, it could let multiple users on separate devices choose items from a menu when creating a group food order, saving them from passing their phones around the room.

It could also let users pick up where they left off in an article when swapping from their phone to a tablet, or even allow the passengers in a car to share a specific map location with the vehicle's navigation system, reported The Verge.

This almost sounds like an expansion of Nearby Share, which enables users on Android to transfer files to Chromebooks and other Androids. In April, Esper's Mishaal Rahman spotted an upcoming Nearby Share update that could let you quickly share files across the devices you're signed into Google.

As per The Verge, The cross-device toolkit is currently available in a developer preview and only works with Android phones and tablets for now. Google eventually wants to extend support to "other Android surfaces and non-Android OSs," including iOS and Windows, but there's no word on when this will happen.