Android cloning Apple’s Handoff feature is cheeky but a good thing

The appeal of Apple devices has always been a mix of hardware quality and software features, with the wider ecosystem absolutely key. Effectively, Apple devices gain value as soon as you have more than one of them.

Handoff is a perfect example. You can begin working on a document on your Mac, seamlessly continue on your iPad, and then make some last-minute changes on your iPhone. Google is now cloning this feature in Android 17 …

Continue On brings Handoff to Android

Google is calling its own version of the feature Continue On.

Continue On enables users to start an Android app on one Android device and then transition to another device in their Android ecosystem, continuing the user journey they started. The feature will let activities from your Android device show up on other devices connected to the same accounts.

The initial implementation of the feature will be limited.

Google says this is designed to work bidirectionally, but will “initially” only work between Android phones and tablets. An activity from your phone will appear on your tablet in the dock, with one example being the ability to open the same document in Google Docs from your tablet using the “handoff” suggestion that appears in the tablet’s dock.

You can find a couple of demo videos at our sister site, 9to5Google.

Cheeky, but good for Apple users

Android’s history of cloning Apple features, of course, goes right back to the very first Android smartphones. Steve Jobs complained loudly that it was a direct copy of the iPhone.

Since then, one mobile OS borrowing features from another has been bidirectional. Android has absolutely cloned other iOS features, but Apple has equally copied ones which first appeared on Android.

While there are always commentators who get outraged on Apple’s behalf, the bottom line is that this benefits users of both platforms. It spurs both Apple and Google into greater innovations in an attempt to stay ahead, and it prevents complacency.

In the case of AI features, of course, Apple users will directly benefit from Google’s work in this field as many Apple Intelligence features will be directly powered by Gemini models. Longer term, I very much hope Apple will develop its own AI models so that, again, competition drives progress.

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