Earlier this year, AOSP commits revealed that Android 9.0 would support printing via Wi-Fi Direct. Put simply, it would allow your phone to print documents over a peer-to-peer connection (without being on the same Wi-Fi network). Some manufacturers have added Wi-Fi Direct support to their own print service plugins, but the native Android print service didn't have it.

As expected, the final release of Android 9.0 Pie includes this feature. It was developed in cooperation with the Mopria Alliance, which consists of Canon, HP, Samsung, Microsoft, Xerox, and other companies. I don't have a supported printer to test this with, but Wi-Fi Direct printers should appear alongside other local and Google Cloud devices.

PRESS RELEASE