Android 17 gets Apple-style Handoff feature
▼ Summary
– Google is adding a “Continue On” feature for Android that lets users start a task on a phone and resume it on a compatible tablet.
– At launch, “Continue On” only supports tasks moving from a smartphone to a tablet, with bidirectional support planned for later.
– The feature allows direct continuation of documents, emails, or browser pages, opening the most relevant content on the tablet.
– Continue On will be available for testing in Android 17’s first release candidate build, though no release date is set.
– This announcement, alongside Googlebook laptops, signals broader Android interoperability that could rival Apple’s device coordination.
Google is rolling out a new Android 17 feature dubbed “Continue On,” which brings a familiar Apple-style Handoff capability to the ecosystem. This tool lets you begin an activity on your Android phone and seamlessly pick it up from a compatible tablet, exactly where you stopped.
At launch, Continue On works in one direction only: from smartphone to tablet. However, Google has confirmed that bidirectional support is planned for the future. When using an Android tablet, users will see the Continue On icon appear in the dock, highlighting the most recently used app from their phone , provided that same app is installed on the tablet.
This feature enables direct access to documents you were editing, or lets you jump straight into an email you had open on your phone. In certain cases, it can even open the tablet’s browser to the most relevant page for continuing a web-based task.
Google has announced that Continue On will be available for testing in Android 17’s RC1 build, the first release candidate version, though a specific launch date has not been provided. The company also declined to share a timeline for when tablet-to-phone handoffs will be supported.
When paired with last week’s unveiling of Android-powered Googlebook laptops, this development signals a broader push toward Android interoperability that could finally rival Apple’s famously seamless cross-device experience.
(Source: The Verge)
