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Google’s ‘Tap to Share’ for Android Leaks, Pointing to NFC Tap-to-Tap Transfers

Leaked system assets suggest an easier proximity-based sharing tool could arrive with Android 17.

In iOS, users have to place the top of one iPhone near the top of the other to enable transfer.

Overview

  • Android Authority, with inputs from tipster AssembleDebug, uncovered Tap to Share UI elements in Google Play Services version 26.15.31 on Monday.
  • Early screens show both phones must be unlocked and overlapped near the top edges, with a glow on the displays confirming the connection.
  • If alignment fails, the guidance suggests trying the phones back-to-back, which helps account for different NFC antenna locations on Android models.
  • The feature reportedly uses NFC to start the handshake, then shifts larger transfers to faster links like Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth.
  • Tap to Share appears built into Android’s share sheet and likely works with Quick Share, with an experimental toggle seen in Samsung’s One UI 8.5 and an expected debut alongside Android 17.