The arc of smartphone history has generally bent towards Apple lifting ideas from Android. This time, it’s the other way around.
As spotted by Android reporter Nail Sadykov and shared on Twitter by fellow Android reporter Mishaal Rahman, Google could soon let people link Android devices together with the same Google account. This could enable features similar to those seen with Apple’s Continuity program, which allows people to link their iPhones, Macs, and iPads together so you can take phone calls on any of those devices instead of just the iPhone.
There isn’t a ton of info about how this will work or what it will allow just yet. In the image, you can see a toggle for “Call switching,” which would allow you to transfer phone calls from one Android device to another, similar to the Apple feature. According to the tweet, it could also enable “internet sharing,” which would allow users to use a personal hotspot between devices.
Aside from that, there’s no telling when this feature will make its way into Android devices or what other functionality it’ll allow. For now, Android users just have to do something they’re not used to doing: Be slightly jealous of iPhone users.
