Google opens the door for Android apps that work across all kinds of devices

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Making it easier for developers to create apps that connect across a range of devices is one of the goals of the project. A new cross-device software development kit (SDK) that contains the tools developers need to make their apps play nice acrossANDROID and non-ANDROID phones, tablets, TVs, cars, and more will be launched by GOOGLE.

It is supposed to allow developers to discover nearby devices, establish secure connections between devices, and host an app's experience across multiple devices. In order to deliver multi- device connectivity, the cross-device SDK uses wi-fi, bluetooth, and ultra-wideband.

Image: Google

According to the documentation page of the cross-device SDK, it could be useful in many scenarios. It would be possible to let multiple users on separate devices choose items from a menu when creating a group food order. It could allow the passengers in a car to share a specific map location with the vehicle's navigation system, as well as allow you to pick up where you left off in an article when you switch from your phone to a tablets.

It seems like it's an expansion of Nearby Share, which allows users to transfer files to other devices that use the same operating system. There is an upcoming Nearby Share update that could allow you to quickly share files across your devices. Later this year, Nearby Share will be available on Windows devices, according to a keynote speech by the company at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The cross- device toolkit is only available in a developer preview and only works with tablets. There is no word on when support for non-Android OSs will be added. Since the capability is in its infancy, we probably can't expect to see apps that bridge the gap between the two operating systems anytime soon. It will be interesting to see if the new capability will make using certain apps more convenient.