Samsung has unveiled Flow, a new device handoff feature that will eventually let you start an activity on one device and move it to another.
This means you could eventually get an email notification on your smartwatch then switch to your smartphone or tablet to read. Finally, you could switch to your laptop when you’re ready to type a response, all without leaving the application or even the document you’re currently working with.
If this whole concept sounds familiar, it is. Just recently, Apple introduced Continuity, another handoff feature available on devices running the company’s new OS X Yosemite operating system.
The caveat: for Samsung Flow to work, all your devices will have to be from Samsung.
The company gives a brief overview in this demonstration video of just how Samsung Flow will eventually work:
As you can see, Samsung claims the feature will eventually work over a full range of media products — including your TV.
This means, when Flow is implemented, you will be able to receive notifications of phone calls even while you’re watching television — if you wish to, that is.
There are three main features to Flow, according to a report from The Verge. Those features are called Defer, Transfer, and Notify.
Using the Transfer feature, apps and other activities will be able to be switched among enabled devices. You will be able to switch work activities — like reading and editing a document — for example from one device to another. But the Transfer feature could also be utilized for things like moving a video call from your laptop to your smartphone.
The Defer feature will allow you to put off an activity until later. When you Defer an activity, Samsung claims, it will be stored at the exact place you left off until resumed. That means an email or article you’re reading would resume at the same line where you stopped reading, for example.
As discussed earlier, the Notify feature would allow for some some notifications across all devices.
Incoming calls and low-battery warnings could appear on any device that’s connected to Flow, for example, Slash Gear reports.
To enable the Flow feature on a Samsung device, the Flow icon — a triangle-like design — would be selected opening a menu of options. To transfer an activity to another device, for example, you would choose from a list of available devices where you want your work to go.
Samsung Flow was just recently introduced to Samsung developers so it may be some time until it’s actually available on any of the company’s devices, according to Engadget. But the overview does give a hint at the kind of workflow flexibility Samsung users may be able to look forward to.
Image: Samsung
