We met the Google multi-device services in the May Feature Drop, although it is not until now that they are finally being activated widely among users. With them, your Android devices such as mobile phones and tablets work better than ever.
Google’s multi-device services will allow you to easily interact with your mobile phones and tablets where you are signed in. They are launching with two: being able to transfer a video call from one device to another and share Internet with an access point automatically.
How to activate the new multi-device services
If you use multiple Android phones or tablets, this might interest you: Google is now activating multi-device services across the board, with which you will be able to switch from one device to another for specific taskswith the requirement that you are logged in with the same Google account.
You will need to have Google Play services updated to version 24.28.34 or higher and have Android 11 or later to access it. Google Play services are usually updated automatically, so it’s quite likely that you already have this version. If so, you can activate multi-device services with these steps:
- Go to the settings on your mobile or tablet.
- Tap on Google.
- Tap on All the services and then in Multi-device serviceswithin Connected devices and sharing.
- The first time you do this, the initial configuration wizard will appear to activate multi-device services.
This setup wizard basically serves to Add your devices to the same groupso you can “share things” between them using these services. The wizard will guide you through creating groups for all the Google accounts you have set up.
As expected, You’re going to have to do this with your phones and tablets and you will need to meet the requirements on all of them (having Android 11 or higher and a current version of Google Play services).
What you can do with multi-device services
When you finish the setup, in the same place you will find the main switch to activate or deactivate the multi-device services and the two services that are initially available:
- Call Forwarding: This allows you to transfer a Google Meet call from one phone to another (or a tablet), using the button to transfer the call in a similar way to how the Google Cast button works. Third-party apps may choose to allow this, so we may see it in more apps in the future.
- Share Internet connection: This allows us to share Internet from one device to another, such as a tablet or Chromebook automatically, without having to do anything. To do this, the device needs to have Bluetooth and location turned on and, unfortunately, it is not compatible with Samsung devices, says Google.
You are free to activate both, one or neither, as well as to precisely manage which devices to put in the group. These services, as well as their possible expansion in the future to include more things to share between them, will make it easier for us to Switch from one of our mobile phones to the tablet or Chromebook without going crazy.
Via | 9to5Google