Apple is one of the primary contenders in the closed ecosystem, offering a slew of nifty features for people using a combination of the Mac and iPhone. These include the ability to send and receive SMS/iMessage from Mac, activating iPhone’s WiFi hotspot, checking its battery level and sharing files between the two devices, among others. But Google has been working on its homegrown ecosystem based on Chrome and Android. Considering the fact some of the features work across different platforms, including Windows and Mac, and sometimes the iPhone as well, Google can give Apple a run for its money with its Chrome/Android combo.
The center-point of integration is a Google account across all the devices and enabling Google Now, which is one of their core features. The Android/Chrome combination works great when paired with various Google products and services like Google Maps, Google Search, and Google Now reminders. Using Google Maps on the computer, users can quickly send location and direction details to their Android device without having to type again. A notification appears on the lock screen as the data is sent from Chrome to Android. Another useful feature is synchronization of tabs across all devices running the Chrome browser, regardless of the device used. The Recent Tabs option in Chrome menu shows the tabs opened in each device nicely sorted out. This feature is particularly useful when switching devices while needing to continue browsing the same set of pages.
One of the hallmark features of the Android/Chrome combination is the ability to control the computer remotely with the help of Chrome Remote Desktop app. To use this feature, the user has to install the Chrome Remote Desktop app from the Google Play Store, as well as the Chrome Remote Desktop extension on their computer. Following this, they can fully access and control the computer, and perform any function without limitation remotely. This feature works on both Windows and Macs. Any Google user can also find the current location of their phone from Chrome just by typing ‘find my phone’ in the Google search bar, making it easier to locate their phone. Another very useful and productive feature is the ability to set reminders from Chrome on any computer, to be notified on your phone at the specified time. This works just by typing the desired reminder in the Google search bar, and Google Now opens up with the dialog box confirming the details of the reminder. Google Now reminders can also be configured to notify the user of a reminder at a particular location.