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Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

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Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#151

Post by Telaneo »

MiddleEndian wrote: post #105
marcodiego wrote: post #62

Around 2008 I saw two girls, not too versed in technology, share a mp3 song over bluetooth. At the time I thought that if technology finally arrived at the point where "normal people" could be able to do things that required lots of technical knowledge just a few years ago then we were very close to a future where technology could be a giant enabler of powers to everyone. I am really ashamed by how wrong I was and ho…

In high school (2003-2007) it was super easy for any of my friends and I (varying technical levels) to send arbitrarily large files to each other with AOL Instant Messenger's Direct Connect. Honestly not even sure how a non-technical person would do that nowadays.

The closest I've seen is 'send file over message service or e-mail', but this has a decently low maximum file size.

The alternative for larger files is Dropbox or Google Drive or similar and share a link, but there are limits to how full you can have those be, so sending a 5 GB file might be inconvenient if you don't pay for the upgraded service.

For anything larger than that again, I don't think I would do anything than pass a physical flash drive, since there's nothing else that has a lower barrier of entry and I can rely on a random person to be able to use and understand.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#152

Post by tencentshill »

rescbr wrote: post #128
somanyphotons wrote: post #26

Am I right to assume that they simply implemented AirDrop without discussing with Apple?

I remember reading somewhere Apple had/has to make AirDrop interoperable due to EU's DMA.

So is Airdrop now less secure or private? I don't trust any standard Google had their hands in.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#153

Post by dlcarrier »

mcoliver wrote: post #6

Why only the pixel 10? What piece of hardware is the pixel 9 (one year old) missing?

We've reached the point where a program that simply links file selection dialog APIs with network identity broadcast and file transfer APIs is so difficult to get working, that you can't expect it to be functional without the exact specified hardware and software version it was written for.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#154

Post by badc0ffee »

stavros wrote: post #92
wkat4242 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Android but Android does that too. Apps have their internal storage area which you can't access unfortunately (not without root anyway). Nor system files.

When I had an iPhone (a few months ago), there was no way for apps to see files in the filesystem. I wanted to play some music and I had to copy it over to each of the music player apps separately. Is that not the case any more?

VLC for iOS uses the filesystem. You can add files with Finder (newer macOS), iTunes (older macOS), or the Files app on the phone.

You are correct that each app can only see a specific part of the filesystem, unless the apps are by the same developer and part of an App Group.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#155

Post by magicalhippo »

_shantaram wrote: post #88
Gys wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We used to be able to send files over Bluetooth before the iPhone came out. Cross platforms, really? So for example between a Blackberry and a Windows CE phone?

> Cross platforms, really? So for example between a Blackberry and a Windows CE phone? Yes, it was part of the Bluetooth file transfer spec[0] and possible between any two devices that implemented it correctly. 0: https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/file-transfer...

I recall getting very surprised when my sister got one of the first Windows phones (one with the tile menu) and it didn’t support this feature.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#156

Post by dlcarrier »

tencentshill wrote: post #152
rescbr wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading somewhere Apple had/has to make AirDrop interoperable due to EU's DMA.

So is Airdrop now less secure or private? I don't trust any standard Google had their hands in.

I don't think it's possible for it to get less secure or private.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#157

Post by rescbr »

tencentshill wrote: post #152
rescbr wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading somewhere Apple had/has to make AirDrop interoperable due to EU's DMA.

So is Airdrop now less secure or private? I don't trust any standard Google had their hands in.

Eh... there is an open source AirDrop implementation, it's 6 years old now.

https://github.com/seemoo-lab/opendrop

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#158

Post by spiznnx »

dlcarrier wrote: post #145
flexagoon wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it can't be implemented without low level hardware access. But also, it seems like it's a part of GMS, not of the OS itself.

Low level hardware access for opening a file and a network port? Those are some of the first lessons in any programming tutorial. If they aren't available, what is the OS even doing? Also, for all intents and purposes, GMS is part of the Android OS, but Google had to branch it off, to keep it closed source.

AirDrop doesn't open a network port, it creates a WiFi Aware advertisement and a WiFi Direct connection. However I thought this also should not need OS-level changes, just android.permission.NEARBY_WIFI_DEVICES permission.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#159

Post by kayodelycaon »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #95
alistairSH wrote: post #44

Is the benefit transferring "local" via BT instead of across the internet as a text message attachment? Because I do the latter plenty, but pretty much never AirDrop anything to anybody, even if they're sitting next to me.

AirDrop uses P2P wifi for the actual transfer which can make it significantly faster than transferring through the internet, which makes a big difference for photos, videos, and other large files. It also works out in the middle of a forest where there are no wireless connections as well as it works in the middle of NYC.

It’s great. I used it to move entire folders from my Mac to an account-less iPad with no Internet connection.

I thought it was going to be slow, but hundreds of gigabytes was fully transferred in less than a minute.

Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10

#160

Post by layer8 »

reactormonk wrote: post #33

Shoutout to https://localsend.org/ - it can even open a local webserver if needed.

LocalSend requires the devices to be on the same local network. TFA is about file sharing using a direct device-to-device wireless connection.
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