Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google is borrowing a leaf out of Apple's playbook. It is working on a new feature that makes it easy for users with multiple Android devices to manage calls seamlessly.
What Happened: Google is working on a new feature that will let users seamlessly switch between Android devices for managing calls, similar to the Call Continuity feature on Apple Inc. AAPL devices.
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Spotted by Android researcher Nail Sadykov (via Mishaal Rehman), this feature is a part of Google Play Services, so it's not completely dependent on the phone's Android version. This means that most Android phones will be able to access this feature even if their phone maker has stopped updating it.
Simply named ‘Call switching', when enabled, users will be able to seamlessly switch between multiple linked Android devices to make or accept voice calls on their phone number.
How Is It Helpful: Imagine you have two Android phones but only one SIM card. While this is placed in your primary phone, you can link your secondary phone with the primary one using the same Google account.
This will allow you to accept calls on the secondary phone, which can be useful when the primary phone is out of your reach or is charging, for instance.
If this sounds familiar, that is because Apple has a feature called ‘Call Continuity' that works seamlessly between Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
While Google has never had as cohesive an ecosystem as Apple, this new ‘Call switching' and ‘Link Your Devices' feature is definitely a step in this direction.
Other companies like Samsung have done their bit to make their own tablets, phones, and smartwatches talk to each other, but a native Android solution will benefit the entire Android ecosystem.
Image Credits – Shutterstock
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