A new leak suggests Google's Nearby Share and Samsung’s Quick Share are being merged

While there are numerous tools available for sharing files between Android devices, Google’s Nearby Share and Samsung’s Quick Share are among the most preferred choices. However, a new leak suggests that both of these tools might soon combine into a unified feature named Quick Share.

Nearby Share from Google is the preferred choice of users for sharing files across Android devices. Meanwhile, Samsung users also have access to Quick Share, a file-sharing tool exclusively available on Galaxy devices. Many Samsung users prefer Quick Share to share files as it offers some additional features that aren’t available on Nearby Share.

After Google rebranded Nearby Share to Quick Share in the recent Google Mobile Services update, it is speculated that the two services might get merged. This change was noted by developer and Pixel leaker Kamila Wojciechowska after she updated GMS to version 23.50.13. After the update, she received a notification about the rebranding – “Nearby Share is now Quick Share”.

Upon further inspection, she noticed a change in branding across the user interface. The previous icon has been replaced with a new one in the share sheet and quick settings.

Also, the ‘Quick Share’ name appears on the quick setting tile instead of Nearby Share. Moreover, there are some UI changes in the settings that you can check out below.

If Google plans to expand this change, it could lead to confusion among Samsung users. The sharing tool on Galaxy devices is already named Quick Share. This hints at more than a mere rebranding.

Additionally, Kamila discovered signs of a migration education flow for the updated Quick Share experience. This, coupled with the new name aligning with Samsung’s existing file-sharing service, strongly suggests the potential merger of these functionalities.

However, we will suggest our readers take this information with a pinch of salt as the new change is yet to be officially confirmed. And if this speculation holds true, Samsung users will be left with only one native file-sharing tool.