- Tap to Share is an Android alternative in development to Apple’s NameDrop
- We had heard about it before, but now the interface has been leaked.
- It seems advanced, so maybe it will launch with Android 17
Android already has its own alternative to AirDrop in Quick Share, but it lacks the NameDrop component of AirDrop, which is the feature that allows two iPhones to be joined together to share contact information. However, a version of NameDrop is coming to Quick Share soon and it will be called Tap to Share.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Tap to Share, but thanks to Android Authority, we’ve now gotten a better look at the upcoming feature, as the site managed to activate the Tap to Share UI by digging into Google Play Services v26.15.3.
The feature hasn’t been released yet, so the interface or approach may change, but you can see that in its current form it requires two phones to have the tops of their screens overlapping, making it slightly different from Apple’s sharing approach.
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An NFC problem
Android Authority assumes this is due to the varied placement of NFC chips on Android phones, with an overlap making it more likely that the NFC chips on both phones will be in range for the transfer.
Once overlapped, you hold the phones together until the screen lights up, at which point your contact information will be exchanged, although you can apparently also use Tap to Share to transfer photos, videos and other files.
It’s still unclear when Tap to Share will actually launch, but the fact that Android Authority was able to access the interface suggests that it’s on track to be finished, so perhaps we’ll see it as part of Android 17 in mid-2026.
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