Chrome OS Commits Suggest Nearby API is Coming to Chromebooks
Two new commits in the Chrome OS Gerrit suggest that the Nearby Connections API that is currently in Android is going to be coming to the platform. The first commit points to the actual import of the Nearby API code into the Chrome OS platform while the second commit more clearly outlines the need for classes within the platform code structure to support Nearby.
Right now the Nearby API is pretty limited in functionality on Android. The idea long term is to allow for devices near each other to quickly share information or, through beacons, get information about a location or event that you happen to be near. Rarely does it get used these days but Google is continue to develop the API, it is up to version 2.0 now, and developers are slowly beginning to implement it.