Google Gesture Exchange for Android Phones May Borrow NameDrop Animation

A few weeks ago, Google was spotted working on its own version of Apple's NameDrop service, codenamed "Gesture Exchange". New information about the same has surfaced and suggests Google could be working on the feature's animations, and it looks pretty amazing.

Google Gesture Exchange gets one step closer to completion

In a recent APK teardown by Android Authority, they discovered a new animation for the Gesture Exchange feature. This animation appears to be a part of Google's latest Play Services Beta version 25.49.31, and could trigger during both Gesture Exchange and Contact Exchange.

The newly uncovered animation confirms that Google not only intends to make a NameDrop alternative, but also replicate its characteristics as well as it can. Unlike on the iPhone, the animation seems to appear in pale orange in the top 25% portion of the smartphone.

Upon completion in the future, the animation plays, and users should see contact cards or a share sheet for the content they want to share. However, since the core of the feature is still under development, no contact cards or share sheet appear yet. 

However, Google could face a unique challenge related to NFC placement. Since the feature will roll out to all Android phones, the NFC antenna being placed in different regions on different phones could pose a challenge for Google.

The leak highlights that the feature may need a lot of calibrating across the Android ecosystem to be consistent. This could result in the tap gesture not working or force users to shuffle their phones around awkwardly.

While the release date of the feature is unknown, we don't expect it to roll out very soon due to current issues. With the core of the feature still incomplete and Google refining the animations, a potential launch could happen in a future Pixel Feature Drop or Android update like Android 17. More information about the feature should drop as it nears completion, so stay tuned.