The EU wants Apple to open AirDrop and AirPlay to Android and other platforms
The EU wants Apple to open AirDrop and AirPlay to Android and other platforms
A new mandate from the EU may force Apple to open AirDrop and AirPlay, among other features, to Android and other platforms.
Go EU! Make Apple play fair!
I really don't understand why this isn't the norm. Capitalism is a tool. You wouldn't ask a hammer where to hit but it's totally ok that capitalism is allowed to make its own rules.
Without humans, there is no capitalism. Can we please start to prioritize people and ignore corporate crying. They always cry, it maximizes profit.
Fuck em, use their potential to really help society to create real, sustainable improvements. If everyone follows the same rules, it's not even unfair for them
I can't tell if I'm just too old and infirmed to understand the information needs of the younger generations. But between nearby share, wifi direct, and bluetooth transfer... I have no idea what function I am missing out on. What does airdrop do that makes life so tedious in the absence of?
AirDrop is just a fancy marketing term for WiFi-direct file transfers.
Airdrop is a little bit less friction than all of the other technologies you mention, but the real problem is that Apple has declined to implement any of the technologies you mentioned, and decided to only support Airdrop for transferring files between devices.
So it you want to transfer a file from iPhone to iPhone, than Airdrop is easy and frictionless.
If you want to transfer a file from Android to Android, then you have all the options you mention and many more to choose from.
But if you want to transfer a file from iPhone to Android (or Android to iPhone), then there basically isn't any options. Airdrop doesn't work on Android because Apple doesn't allow it. And all the options you mentioned doesn't work be cause Apple has refused to implement them.
LocalSend works on them all, its open source and is completely frictionless.
if you want to transfer a file from iPhone to Android (or Android to iPhone), then there basically isn't any options.
Back before I got my iPhone I remember transferring files from my Android to and from my iPad and MacBook. This was back in 2019 so I cannot recall exactly how it was done, but it was some Bluetooth thing I did.
I suppose I don't understand what you mean when you say "friction". I'm assuming you mean some sort of difficulty or complexity that makes the process less straightforward than "pressing button make airdrop go brrrr" - in which case I would say is entirely consistent with the ecosystem apple has made for itself.
Also curious. All I know is that sharing via bluetooth seemed to be strangely absent from IPhones last time I checked. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I swear we couldn't find it. Ended up sharing photos over the PC with a USB cable like in the old days. Interacting with apple users and their walled garden is always an experience...
All of those never work with all of the devices you want to share with or to. And some of them are really cumbersome to set up. Airplay especially makes it really easy to stream content to a larger screen, and most Android solutions are either also proprietary or are not supported by a large enough spectrum of devices.
LocalSend should be a core util of every OS
localsend kinda sucks for sharing files to someone else on a trip or whatever because you need to be on the same network, and on a network that allows device detection. Most public wifi does not.
I figured out a hotspot worked, but it's still miles less convenient than airdrop
oh yah it would be awesome if localsend could toggle a hotspot and generate a quick link for other localsend clients to connect. that would prob require more permissions than apple will ever allow.
Isn’t there already an open standard for this that Apple could simply adopt?
Edit: I could have sworn Matter was talking about including an airdrop-like service but I can’t find a link.
This goes deeper, it's about devs getting access to pretty much any API that Apple only uses internally
This. They’re in a position of power where developers are beholden to what APIs they offer externally, so they can always give their offerings a leg up that no other service can compete with and if you engineer around their imposed limitations, then your app will never make it onto their App Store.
Short of email or a messaging program nothing exists to be able to transfer files between an iOS and Android based phone. There are some third party utilities that say they can do it bit they’re all janky and well, 3rd party.
Hm… I’m all for open standards, but Apple should retain the right to develop features that work exclusively on their devices (provided their devices support alternative protocols to avoid total lock-in). As open-source and linux loving as I am, I’m a willing prisoner of the Apple closed garden because I appreciate how refined and integrated everything is. (Others’ experience may differ)
The experience can still be refined and integrated, without having closed systems for something as simple as sharing a file to another phone. Why would you be against adding more value to your device?
Maintaining backwards compatibility isn’t easy, and cross compatibility just adds more complexity.
The good and the bad of Apple not having the best backwards compatibility is they don’t have to waste time on that. They can do what they do well and make the experience as smooth and seamless as possible. And most importantly move quickly.
I mean just look at windows. Windows 11 has gotten so much shit because they’re trying to change so many things, but they legitimately just can’t. Or on Linux look at its backwards compatibility. That shits a nightmare. Things like flat pack should fix it. But it only fixes it if everything is on flat pack.
iPhone does notsupport file sharing over Bluetooth, so it invalidates the condition you put between ().
Huh… Didn’t know. Thanks for pointing it out!
Okay, the EU can have Airdrop.
The way I read it, they’re not asked to follow an open standard, but to provide a specification for their own standard. That means that they could dictate the pace of development and others could decide for themselves wether or not to implement it for their devices. It’s similar to WhatsApp being forced to provide third parties with API access.
Also, they currently don’t support alternative protocols with cross-platform support and they’re not going to, unless forced.
Yeah, I don’t get. Let Apple have their walled garden and people can choose to be in or out. They don’t have a monopoly in any hardware or software market, do they?
If so many people choose their walled garden to make them a monopoly then start forcing them open.
This would make the protocol less secure. Currently is limited to set software and hardware. It’s very difficult to exploit.
It would also provided access to more information about the user than they currently would expect to share when they have airdrop enabled.
Apple would have to redesign airdrop significantly to support this or risk major privacy and security issues. If apple does this you should stop using airdrop.
Yah, I don't think you actually know how the tech works under the hood. Not true.
I don’t think you know how it works. AirDrop isn’t the same as Bluetooth or local network sharing. Its significantly more complex and requires access to both parties location and contacts.
Apple would have to redesign airdrop significantly
How will they ever afford it!?
If you want this kind of security you aren't using a snartphone.
Jesus titty fucking Christ. I don't want to deal with Apple dogshit chattery protocols.
You don't have to, just don't use it.