Google's Copresence might link iOS and Android like never before

sincity · November 1, 2014

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/copresence_google_leak-470-75.jpg

Devices with different operating systems are traditionally limited in the ways they can interact with one another, but Google may be working to fix that with a feature called "Copresence."

Google Copresence is a tool that will let iOS and Android devices that are in proximity to one another exchange files, photos, directions, messages, and more, according to Android Police.

The site says that with Copresence, the devices can authenticate with one another using Bluetooth or location information, then transfer data back and forth via Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi direct.

The images above were reportedly unearthed in the latest Google Play Services APK, and they clearly show different types of handsets and tablets - iPhones and iPads and Android devices - interacting with one another.

Dynamite with a laser beam

Developers have reportedly also glimpsed a Copresence API in various documentation, among other clues.

The feature is being compared to Android Beam, a hidden gem for NFC-enabled Android devices, and Google's Nearby, a feature that was rumored over the summer.

In fact, it seems Copresence may be an evolution of what we were previously hearing about as "Nearby," or the name of the technology behind the Nearby feature.

Either way, word is we'll be hearing more straight from Google within "the coming weeks."