Merging Nearby Share into Quick Share represents an evolution within the relationship between Samsung and Google, which has been a tense one. As the main producer of Android units, Samsung depends on Google’s working system; nevertheless, since a plurality of Android customers will expertise the OS by way of the Korean big’s {hardware}, Google can be beholden to Samsung for market share. While that looks like a symbiotic relationship, it has usually resulted in a chilly struggle between the 2 titans. Samsung has its personal imaginative and prescient for Android, with its One UI pores and skin being vastly totally different from Stock Android in some ways. It has a separate app retailer; its Bixby voice assistant competes towards Google Assistant and so forth.

For some time, the 2 firms grew more and more adversarial, with Samsung making an attempt to develop its personal in-house OS referred to as Tizen, which did ship on a number of Galaxy Watches. But issues appear to have smoothed over lately. Galaxy Watches once again ships with Wear OS, and partnerships have develop into extra widespread. Google even develops particular variations of its apps for Samsung’s ecosystem, serving to to scale back the problem of duplicate Samsung apps competing towards Google apps.

The challenge with Quick Share has at all times been evident. Having two options that do roughly the identical factor is, in any case, redundant. Users have been confused by the truth that whereas Nearby Share works between any two Android units, in addition to with all Windows PCs, Quick Share solely works with different Galaxy units. Users who aren’t clued into the distinction between the 2 could develop into annoyed, inflicting them to desert each options. That’s not useful for both Google or Samsung, and the Android ecosystem can be more healthy total because of merging the 2.