Now, this is just a rumor at this point, so you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt. Right now, when you copy something to your phone’s clipboard, you’ll see a small toolbar pop up on the bottom of the screen. This shows you what you’ve copied and (on Android 13) gives you the ability to edit the text you copied. It also gives you quick access to share that text.
But, Android could integrate the clipboard with Nearby Share
Rahman posted a tweet explaining the feature along with a short video showcasing it in action. When you copy a bit of text, you’ll see the clipboard overlay pop up on the bottom, as usual. Right next to the share button, you’ll see the Nearby Share button. This will immediately launch the function and it will start searching for a device to send it to. Since it uses the default Android clipboard function, it can also be used to transfer screenshots as well. This is not only convenient, but it’s super quick, as Nearby Share is a quick method of sharing files.
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 20, 2022
This is still in the early stages
Now, this feature was discovered within Android 13’s code. Google announced it during Google I/O back in May, but it didn’t officially launch it just yet. This means that we’re seeing an early and unfinished version of the feature. We’re not sure if there will be any changes to the feature when it actually launches. Also, this was spotted in the latest version of the Android 13 beta, so if you’re interested in getting this feature, you’ll need to be on Android in the future. You can try out the beta if you’re using a Pixel 4 or newer. Getting the beta means that you’ll be able to get the latest Android updates and test out the latest features. You’ll just need to know that the software will be unstable at times.