A grand return for something that never left on other devices
While your phone’s file manager might serve as a landfill for all of those discarded APKs you’ve installed over the years, it’s still a must-have app for keeping track of documents, media, and other content. Files by Google isn’t the most advanced tool out there, but it’s fast, free, and easy to use. With the latest beta update, Pixels are gaining easily-accessible share options back once more.
As spotted by 9to5Google, Files by Google v1.0.440568297 is making its way out to beta testers today, and on Pixel phones, it’s bringing back something that’s been missing for the past couple of years. On devices made by other manufacturers — such as Samsung — the bottom navigation bar usually displays three tabs: Clean, Browse, and Share.
Since Nearby Share rolled out in 2020, Google has kept the tab hidden on its devices, as it simply duplicated an ability presented by the Share sheet. It wasn’t completely gone from Files — you could find a “Share offline” option listed in the sliding menu off to the left side. But for whatever reason, it’s making a grand return with today’s beta update.
The actual page is unchanged, as you can select to send or receive files to other devices using Nearby Share. This change just makes it a little easier to access on Pixels. It’s rolling out to beta testers now, but you can skip the wait by grabbing the APK from APK Mirror.
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