By
Matthew Mountjoy
Published 6 hours ago
Sign in to your Android Police account
Summary
Generate a summary of this story
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
2
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
Google is taking a feature out of Apple's playbook and is developing a new feature titled Universal Clipboard that will make it easier to share copied content between Android devices. It's reportedly making its debut in next year's Android 17 update.
Easier copying and pasting
Android currently uses Gboard, which lets you copy and paste within apps, but it doesn't automatically sync to other devices, as Universal Clipboard would. Meanwhile, shareability with Gboard has gotten more difficult, as Google has tightened access to Gboard's ClipboardManager API.
According to Android Authority, Android 10 introduced restrictions that allow only the default keyboard or app that is in use to read the clipboard. With Android 13, that tightened up even more, with the clipboard history clearing after an hour and an automatic warning whenever an app tries to access it.
For Gboard to sync the clipboard across devices, users need to use Microsoft's SwiftKey as their default keyboard. Because Microsoft owns both Windows and SwiftKey, the tech giant has developed a clipboard sharing tool between the two that Android users can adopt. Interestingly, some Android devices can sync their clipboards without SwiftKey, but only because a pre-installed system utility bypasses background restrictions and uses Windows Link to stream clipboard data to a PC.
A bite of Apple on Android
If Google does go ahead and implement Universal Clipboard, it could adopt a similar approach to Microsoft's to sync clipboards between Android devices and Chromebooks, likely using Google's Play Services. According to Android Authority, the feature would work differently on Pixels, where the Pixel System Service app would likely handle the task instead of Google Play Services itself.
The name Universal Clipboard is not yet finalized, but Android Authority based its guess about it on a new UniversalClipboardManager class appearing under the android.companion.datatransfer.continuity path in the latest Android beta and canary releases.
Universal Clipboard would be the latest Google effort to work with or like iOS devices. Recently, Google made a massive breakthrough by enabling Android's Quick Share to work seamlessly with Apple's AirDrop, allowing both Android and iOS users to share files, photos, videos, etc., without using alternative routes like Google Drive or third-party services. And Google is also reportedly adding a similar feature to Apple's NameDrop, enabling Android users to seamlessly swap contact information across devices.
-
Operating Systems
-
Phones
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Reply / Post Images Attachment(s) Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.Your comment has not been saved
Send confirmation email Sort by: Popular Oldest Newest- Terms
- Privacy
- Feedback
3 days ago
The tiny One UI tweak that changed how I use my Samsung phones
13 hours ago
The Motorola features I rely on every day (and why I won't give them up)
16 hours ago
Quick Share/AirDrop gets Qualcomm backing, leaving old Pixels out in the cold, but for how long?
14 hours ago
Google is prepping for Assistant's demise with branding changes
Trending Now
Gemini can now tell you whether that image is real or AI-generated
I regret trading in my Pixel 8 so early
Stop ignoring these 5 Google Messages features
You definitely don't have to use SwiftKey to synchronize your clipboard to your other devices. On Samsung I just use the your phone app on my PC and everything is able to be copied. There's also quick share to do a lot of this.
2025-11-24 18:31:47 Upvote Downvote Reply CopyAlong with being able to sync between my various devices, I'd also like to see Google add history / multiple clipboards or whatever you want to call it that could allow me to copy and paste multiple items.
That way, I could, for example, copy an exploit name, it's CVE number and the patched version number and be able to paste all 3 bits of info into a text message without having to keep switching between Chrome and Messages to get each part individually.
2025-11-24 18:25:20 Upvote Downvote Reply Copy