Google launched the beta version of Nearby Share on select Pixel and Samsung smartphones in June 2020 before releasing it to every Android phone running Android 6.0 and higher in August of the same year. On the other hand, Samsung also launched a similar feature for its Galaxy lineup of products, called Quick Share. While both of these worked as different services, they could soon be merged.
Kamila Wojciechowska, a developer who usually reengineers apps and has hands on Pixel leaks, went through a recent updated APK file of Google Play Services app with version 23.50.13. That lead her to discover hints which suggest that Google might be rebranding Nearby Share to Quick Share.
After she updates to the latest Google Play Services app, she received a notification stating, “Nearby Share is now Quick Share”. Further, the notification read, “look for the new name and icon to share with nearby devices”. The feature has been updated with a new icon as well. She further shared the screenshots of the sharing menu as well as the settings for the feature, all of which are now called Quick Share.
Quick Share, as mentioned, is the name of Samsung’s sharing service is as well. Creating a second service with the same name in a Galaxy smartphone at least, could create a confusion for the users as to which service is Samsung’s and which one is Google’s. This could mean two possibilities, that either Google or Samsung have integrated their quick sharing feature with the other company’s one, or Nearby Share got rebranded to Quick Share and the separate Quick Share exclusive to Samsung users has been shelved.
The change is being currently rolled out to beta users which means that a wider rollout may follow in the coming weeks. Once it takes place, Google will have to clarify as to what exactly happened to Nearby Share.