Android 17 is getting its own version of Apple’s Handoff

Google is adding a new Android feature that’s similar to Apple’s Handoff, letting you start a task on your Android phone and continue where you left off from a compatible tablet.

“Continue On” is designed to eventually be bidirectional, but Google says that at launch it will only support tasks moving from smartphone to tablet. Android tablet users will see the Continue icon in the dock suggesting the most recently used app on their phone, assuming it’s also installed on the tablet.

It should allow Android users to directly open the documents they were working on or go directly to the email they just opened. In some circumstances, it may open the tablet’s browser to the best page to continue a task on the web.

Google says Continue On will be available for testing in version RC1 of Android 17, its first release candidate, but has not yet said when it will arrive. It also didn’t say when tablet-to-mobile transfers will be supported. With last week’s announcement of Googlebook laptops running Android, this opens the door to broader Android interoperability that could finally match Apple’s impressive cross-device coordination.