A magnificent return for something that never left on other devices
While your phone’s file manager may act as a dump for all the discarded APKs you’ve installed over the years, it’s still an app you need to keep track of documents, media, and other content. Files by Google is not the most advanced tool out there, but it is fast, free and easy to use. With the latest beta update, Pixels is once again getting readily available stock options back.
As discovered by 9to5Google, Files by Google v1.0.440568297 is on its way out to beta testers today, and on Pixel phones it brings back something that has been missing for the last few years. On devices made by other manufacturers – such as Samsung – the bottom navigation bar usually displays three tabs: Clean, Browse, and Share.
Since Nearby Share was launched in 2020, Google has kept the tab hidden on its devices as it has simply duplicated a capability presented by the Share sheet. It was not complete gone from File – you could find a “Share offline” option in the sliding menu on the left. But whatever the reason, it makes a big comeback with today’s beta update.
The actual page is unchanged as you can choose to send or receive files to other devices using Nearby Share. This change just makes it a little easier to access Pixels. It’s rolling out to beta testers now, but you can skip the wait by grabbing the APK from the APK Mirror.
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