Do we know yet whether this will require Google Play Services and the like on Android? Or, worse, SafetyNet? I dream of using this on GrapheneOS without any Google stuff.
Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
241–250 of 585 posts
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#242The fact that I get excited about this is actually a good representation much vendor lock there is. We used to be able to send files over Bluetooth before the iPhone came out.
You can still send files over bluetooth on devices that aren't iPhones. Even Macs support this
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#243Does anyone remember the old YouSendIt? That was a really easy way to share files with anyone. You uploaded a file to their site, and you should share a secret link.
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#244This is based on Wi-Fi Aware: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Alliance#Wi-Fi_Aware Some background: https://www.ditto.com/blog/cross-platform-p2p-wi-fi-how-the-... On the Apple side, this was prompted by the EU Digital Markets Act: https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/questions-and-answe...
Pretty sure that ditto article is written by AI ... there's an entire section dedicated to the imagined 5.0 spec..
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#245Long overdue, there should really be an open standard for wireless sharing of files. Windows? macOS? Linux? Android? iOS? Switch2? PS5? Doesn't matter, just open the wireless file transfer window and it should just work. Having to install third-party apps for such basic functionality is ridiculous. If we had a functional government every major tech CEO would get called by congress, grilled about this bullshit, and to…
Seriously this should be a thing. Would be so much easier.
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#246Just use Wormhole for file transfer. Small and easy to use. I have put on all my computers, laptops and phones.
Granted, this is an edge case: I'm a musician. I use an Android tablet for sheet music. That's great when I have WiFi access, otherwise, file transfer is hard. Not impossible, but awkward when show time is in 5 minutes and someone has brought some brought some new material that they want the band to play.
The almost universal solution is "should have gotten Apple."
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
Curious, why do you think AirDrop is so bad? As for Android, it works fine, but I’ve probably used that feature only once in the past ten years. I haven't seen others use it either.
AirDrop works very infrequently for me. I will open AirDrop and not see someone who's sitting right next to me, or then I'll send them the file and it'll get stuck on "waiting" and they'll never get the notification, or it'll send some of the files then seem to get stuck partway through. This is all with modern day iPhones, like iPhone 15 and above, and just using it in what should be the happy path. I'm actually rea…
I've had the same issue as a more recent iOS convert.
I remembering looking into it and I think there's actually two forms of airdrop - one is local only (I think it negotiates over Bluetooth then does actual transfer over a direct WiFi connection). The other is a fallback or something and goes over cellular.
And for some reason it seems to always want to fall back to cellular when you have one bar of shit 3G in the middle of nowhere and are trying to send your friend 2 feet away a shitload of photos from your trip.
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#248This is based on Wi-Fi Aware: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Alliance#Wi-Fi_Aware Some background: https://www.ditto.com/blog/cross-platform-p2p-wi-fi-how-the-... On the Apple side, this was prompted by the EU Digital Markets Act: https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/questions-and-answe...
I was experimenting with this technology almost a decade ago as part of my work as interaction designer:
https://darker.ink/writings/Mobile-design-with-device-to-dev...
It has a lot of potential but unfortunately it has been kept back until now by lack of support and interoperability.
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
You realize that doesn’t say what you think it says in your own quote of the citation ? Apple has to allow alternate solutions on the iPhone - not that they have to allow AirDrop interoperability.
That's a different thing, but the EU did force Apple to implement Wi-Fi Aware which is what allows Google to do this.
But this works with the existing airdrop client on the iOS side right? Did Apple change airdrop to use wifi aware, and now Google can build the airdrop protocol on Android?
Re: Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because Apple realised that phone users are interested in photos, videos, contacts, documents, appointments etc. not files
One reason I'll never own an apple device, and prefer buying more expensive more open competition. Its just a red line - I own the device by law, if you bend backwards to prevent me from using it via ways that it supports by principle, your product doesn't exist for me.
You are not Apple's target audience, and there is nothing wrong with that.