Googles Nearby will Trigger Notifications to Apps, Websites, and More

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 10 Jun 2016

Google’s Nearby platform is ready to get a little more in your face. According to the Official Android Blog, Nearby can fire off a notification when you’re near a Bluetooth beacon, with details about apps to download or use based on your location. The Nearby App isn’t new. It says an update to Play Services enables devices from KitKat and above to recognize pings from beacons. Google offered a few real-world examples to drive this home:

The ability to print photos from your phone at CVS Pharmacy.
The University of Notre Dame may ping you with details about campus history.
An audio tour when visiting The Broad in Los Angeles.
A Mobile passport at select airports.
The United Airlines app could remind you to download it for in-flight entertainment.

Google offered an example from United, which could ping you with a download to use for in-flight entertainment.

What Can Be Done

Another is the Chromecast. It will alert you that it needs a set up. Instead of looking on your list of Bluetooth devices for it and navigating to a web page.

Have a Chromecast? Next time it may be asking you to set it up.

Ultimately, the potential for developers lies in how they can create a notification. To take you directly to a specific app or action or to install an app if it’s not present. It’s like an extension of the physical web feature. Designed to work primarily with Chrome. If you want to dive in deeper, you can check out this video from I/O.

This feature is also a valuable aid to Android Instant Apps once they become a reality. You get pinged about an app. And use it immediately without installing it.

Why this matters: Google has been pursuing various ways to drive app installs to make your Android phone the center of your computing universe. The Nearby tools, physical web, Tango, and VR. All demonstrate that the tools we use are about to get more immersive. And will tie in directly to the objects around us.