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The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

arstechnica.com

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Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#261

Post by frank_nitti »

throw10920 wrote: post #173
echelon wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, so you're a hyper capitalist. Good, I dig that. Me too. Big tech is literally a machine putting a ceiling on your ability to build. They tax and control everything, lock down distribution, prevent you from operating without rules. If you get big enough, they self-fund an internal team to compete with you. Or they offer to buy you for less than you're worth. If you don't accept, they buy your competitor. Capital…

> Okay, so you're a hyper capitalist. Good, I dig that. Me too. Nothing in GP's comment gave any indication that they were a "hyper capitalist". You're just being emotionally manipulative, disingenuous, and acting in bad faith. This is categorically inappropriate for HN.

Hmm well I certainly inferred the same from their comment: it casts “big tech” as the victim of the government, because the latter forced as “overpriced and shitty solution”

It’s possible they’re not a capitalist and just extremely sympathetic to Apple and/or Google specifically, but that seems more of a stretch than what that commenter (to whom you’re replying) has inferred IMO

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#262

Post by chasil »

fmajid wrote: post #207

I've ditched AirDrop for LocalSend, which is universally cross-platform (iOS, macOS, Linux, Android) and works very well. It's not a complete substitute, it doesn't work in the case of completely casual sharing between devices that are not connected to a shared WiFi network, however.

I did not know that LocalSend had been ported to iOS and MacOS.

I had previously used the built-in webserver for transfers from Android to Apple.

I do have much greater luck with LocalSend transfers when I tether them to my own WiFi prior to transfer.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#263

Post by LexGray »

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #148
tristanj wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that Apple didn't add USB-C to iPhones because they planned to remove all ports from the iPhone entirely. They envisioned it as a wireless only device. EU regulation stopped this from happening, and now once they added USB-C it's difficult to take this feature away. I predict we'll be stuck with the USB-C port and form factor on most phones for the next decade.

This is completely illogical. There is no world that wireless charging or data transfer was going to be as good as wired. Was the iPhone all the sudden not going to work in the millions of cars that had wired CarPlay?

Illogical may not be the right word. We have already reached the point of passible.

WiFi speeds are decent for data.

Wireless charging is 2 hours to a full quick charge and efficiency gets better every generation.

As for wired CarPlay somebody would make dongles.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#264

Post by llm_nerd »

klausa wrote: post #177
llm_nerd wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I know Apple engineers working on the phone" Groan. Come on. Cite one. A single "Apple engineer" to support this ridiculous claim of insider knowledge. What year do you think it is? You understand that the SoC and I/O blocks are largely shared between the Mac and the iPad / iPhone now, right? This invention of some big bifurcation is not reality based. The A14 SoC (which became the foundation for the Mac's M1) had I…

The I/O blocks are similar, but very much not the same between the different Axy/Mz chips. They're different even between A19 Pro in an iPhone Air and the one in 17 Pros! The Air one doesn't support 10Gbps USB-C.

Well sure, they're iterating between models. But in many cases they're quite literally copy/pasting designs. Any imagined separation between the hardware teams is fantasy based. The comment I replied to is nonsensical.

"They're different even between A19 Pro in an iPhone Air and the one in 17 Pros"

The SoC and I/O blocks are quite literally identical. An A19 Pro is an A19 Pro, aside from binning for core disables. The difference is in the wiring and physical connector on the device which puts a ceiling on the features supported, one of which is 10Gbps. The Air famously includes some new "3D printed" super thin Titanium USB-C port, using the 4 pins rather than the "pro" 9 pin 10Gbps capable connector. The SoC is identical, they just only wired it up for USB 2.0.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#265

Post by HugoTea »

vineyardmike wrote: post #159
usrnm wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple also helped develop USB C more than a decade ago, they still had to be forced to actually use it in their phones. There is no contradiction here

Apple said from the day that they made lightning cables that it would be supported for 10 years. They literally contractually guaranteed that to third party manufacturers in exchange for them creating a massive availability of cables for Apple users. The EU “forced them” to switch to the standard they helped develop (USB C) on the 11th year after developing lighting. I’m sure it was all the EUs doing.

There are many things they do which Apple argues benefits their users, but end up benefitting themselves in suspiciously manipulative ways. I'm not shocked they entered a 10 year contractual agreement, and that just so happened to allow them to make a lot of profit by using a proprietary cable.

They lock down individual parts to device serial numbers, this helps prevent fraudulent repair services with poor quality parts, it also ensures Apple is always involved in the repair process and they can make a lot of money on that.

They use a proprietary RAM design, this significantly improves hardware speeds but also stops you replacing or upgrading the modules yourself. They also just happen to charge a serious premium on RAM capacity, and don't sell the modules on their own. Even if a third-party did manufacture the modules and sell them separately, they are also locked down to serial numbers.

This is Apple's bread and butter, enforcing consumer hostile practices and spinning it into a benefit, usually filled with half-truths to muddy the waters. In all of these situations, it's possible to do better by the consumer but why would they? At the end of the day they're here to make money, as much as they possibly can, and they're uncontested in their own vender hardware, doesn't mean we shouldn't call them out for their awful practices every time they appear.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#266

Post by jb1991 »

Longhanks wrote: post #220
isodev wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s funny how we’re all trying to piece together the stack from bits and obscure clues. Would be so cool if Apple and Google finally embrace their role as “essential public infrastructure” and release their specs, interoperate, etc.. so one doesn’t end up trapped one way or another when picking a personal device.

> "essential public infrastructure" If people wanted these devices and services to be public infrastructure, they should be developed and maintained using public funds.

This comment reflects the phenomenon of conflation of orthogonality.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#267

Post by throw10920 »

frank_nitti wrote: post #261
throw10920 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Okay, so you're a hyper capitalist. Good, I dig that. Me too. Nothing in GP's comment gave any indication that they were a "hyper capitalist". You're just being emotionally manipulative, disingenuous, and acting in bad faith. This is categorically inappropriate for HN.

Hmm well I certainly inferred the same from their comment: it casts “big tech” as the victim of the government, because the latter forced as “overpriced and shitty solution” It’s possible they’re not a capitalist and just extremely sympathetic to Apple and/or Google specifically, but that seems more of a stretch than what that commenter (to whom you’re replying) has inferred IMO

Your assumption is equally incorrect, because the poster factually did not say anything like that. You can be upset at the EU for making performative regulation without addressing "real issues" or writing the regulation well, and yet still support strong regulation. The implication that criticizing the EU is equivalent to being a "hyper-capitalist" is such an insane belief that it borders on being farcical.

Assumptions like this are what lead to political polarization. Don't do it. Read what the poster wrote, don't try to read their mind, and use your brain responding.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#268

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

LexGray wrote: post #263
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is completely illogical. There is no world that wireless charging or data transfer was going to be as good as wired. Was the iPhone all the sudden not going to work in the millions of cars that had wired CarPlay?

Illogical may not be the right word. We have already reached the point of passible. WiFi speeds are decent for data. Wireless charging is 2 hours to a full quick charge and efficiency gets better every generation. As for wired CarPlay somebody would make dongles.

Compared to 40 minutes for a charge? Have you used wireless CarPlay? There is a noticeable delay from pressing a button on the display in your car and your phone reacting.

Also the iPhone Pro models support up to 10Gbps wired for data transfer. Now let’s talk about using external video. I don’t need a special dongle. I can use a standard USB 3 cable just like I use with my computer.

https://imgur.com/a/SC6WDri

Or if I need HDMI, again I can use the same USB 3 to HDMI cable that works with Mac or the God awful Microsoft Surface (not the convertible) I had to use for a year at a prior job.

Then we can get into simple things like how do you connect mass storage devices to your phone or audio equipment?

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#269

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

1718627440 wrote: post #218
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is completely illogical. There is no world that wireless charging or data transfer was going to be as good as wired. Was the iPhone all the sudden not going to work in the millions of cars that had wired CarPlay?

I share that view, but I don't think Apple would care. I mean Ethernet is way better than Wifi, yet the iPhones don't have an Ethernet port.

But they can use a standard USB C to Ethernet adapter that computers use.

Re: The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop

#270

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

tristanj wrote: post #180
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is completely illogical. There is no world that wireless charging or data transfer was going to be as good as wired. Was the iPhone all the sudden not going to work in the millions of cars that had wired CarPlay?

My statements are substantiated by sources going back almost a decade. See my other comment for details. And when you view what Apple is doing from their long-term vision of the iPhone becoming a transparent piece of glass, it starts making sense.

Substantiated by rumors - isn’t that an oxymoron?
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