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You Can Finally AirDrop Files Between Android and iPhone, Starting with Pixel 10 (blog.google) 48

Android's Quick Share file transfer service can now work with Apple's AirDrop, allowing users to send files between iPhones and Android devices. Google has started rolling out the feature to its Pixel 10 family of smartphones. The cross-platform compatibility includes security protections that the company says independent security experts tested. Google said it built the feature in response to user requests for simpler file sharing between devices regardless of manufacturer. The company plans to expand availability to additional Android devices.

You Can Finally AirDrop Files Between Android and iPhone, Starting with Pixel 10

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  • Totally anti-consumer, totally destroyed apple's value, totally communist.

    Right?

  • Any phone, shouldn't matter, should basically perform the same function in a compatible way.
    It's like buying a can of kidney beans and then wondering if the brand you bought is compatible with your chili recipe. (that's right, I put beans in my chili. Because beans are CHEAP and my Mom wasn't going to buy two pounds of ground chuck just to make dinner)

    • by Pascoea ( 968200 )

      Any phone, shouldn't matter, should basically perform the same function in a compatible way.,

      I assume that's on the agenda, right after peace in the Middle East. Serious answer, though: That's like saying "Windows and Linux should perform the same function in a compatible way.". I cannot even begin to describe how much I don't want that.

      (that's right, I put beans in my chili. Because beans are CHEAP and my Mom wasn't going to buy two pounds of ground chuck just to make dinner)

      Who the heck DOESN'T put beans in chili? As a lifelog upper-midwest resident the concept of beanless chili just doesn't compute.

      • That's like saying "Windows and Linux should perform the same function in a compatible way.". I cannot even begin to describe how much I don't want that.

        I'm looking at this website from Linux right now because it is HTML/CSS rather than a custom client for AOL or Prodigy or whatever.
        Also PDFs work on Windows and Linux. And even calendar invites from my wife are working on my Linux computer (.ics).
        Basically desktop Linux performs many (most?) of the same functions as a Windows or Mac in a compatible way. Different flavors of user interface (or whatever this is that the GNOME team calls a user interface)

        Who the heck DOESN'T put beans in chili? As a lifelog upper-midwest resident the concept of beanless chili just doesn't compute.

        Texas style all-meat chili is pretty good. But it is ter

        • by Pascoea ( 968200 )

          I'm looking at this website from Linux right now because it is HTML/CSS rather than a custom client for AOL or Prodigy or whatever.

          For sure. I would argue those same requirements are met by our current smartphone ecosystems. I can install outlook, chrome, whatever on either device, and they provide (I assume) relative feature parity. (I have to assume because I have so far successfully avoided having to learn iWhatevers.) But when you start digging deeper, things like file-sharing or authentication on PC vs Linux vs Mac, things can get dicey. You can make it happen, but it's certainly not frictionless or feature-equivalent. Similarl

      • As a lifelog upper-midwest resident the concept of beanless chili just doesn't compute.

        Then feel free to communicate that to the Midwest city of Cincinnati, Ohio that has their own "Cincinnati-style chili" which does not have beans, has some kind of sweetener bullshit in it, and is served over spaghetti.

        The midwest is not known for it's Chili pedigree so I don't know why you claimed that.

        • by Pascoea ( 968200 )

          Then feel free to communicate that to the Midwest city of Cincinnati, Ohio that has their own "Cincinnati-style chili"

          Never been there, but that "chili" sounds awful.

          The midwest is not known for it's Chili pedigree so I don't know why you claimed that.

          No argument from me on that one. To quote Ron White: "I don’t even think you all told the Mexican boys you were having a [Cincinnati, chili capital of the world] contest. That’s right, ’cause a Mexican boy’d come up here with a goat and an onion and kick your ass."

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      That's basically what Android is. The APIs can run on any base OS, and for a while Microsoft maintained a subsystem for Windows. CPU agnostic too.

    • Chili without beans is just hamburger soup.

    • I put four different kinds of beans in my chili.

      Kidney beans
      Black beans
      Cannellini beans
      Pinto beans

      I also use hamburger and Italian sausage.

      And stewed tomatos. Gotta have stewed tomatoes.
      And diced tomatos.

      It's virtually impossible to find good chili in restaurants. You have to make it yourself.

    • Why should I care how a phone I don't own and will never own performs its functions?

      As for the beans, you should ensure you have the correct ones before buying them. Then you don't have to wonder about their compatibility later.

  • Is there some technical reason this couldn't be supported on earlier models?

    • No, but it's common practice to tie arbitrary software features to hardware revisions in order to sell more upgrades. There's no technical reason.

      • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

        No, but it's common practice to tie arbitrary software features to hardware revisions in order to sell more upgrades. There's no technical reason.

        When Google sells a 24-inch tablet, I'll care about Google being able to sell me a replacement that can do this. In the meantime, I want this feature on older, non-Google Android devices. :-)

    • Well, this probably needs some help from the kernel, or at least elevated privilege, since AirDrop (of course) uses weird network protocols. So their "technical reason" is likely "we're doing this work on our current flagship line, and maybe we'll open source it when we feel like it, and then the plebes can have it if they use custom roms, or if their vendors port it."

      Same reason RCS now works better on iOS than on non-Pixel Androids, and why other assorted Google Magic is a bitch to get working on custom

  • Oh ok, so this is just sending files over a temporary adhoc wifi network. Entirely application level. Who cares.

  • I feel lucky whenever I can make airdrop work between my Apple devices.

    Making it work with Google stuff? Seems like fantasy talk.

  • The Pixel 8 I bought 1.5 years ago is not supported anymore?

    • When has "supported" ever been a synonym for "getting the latest features retrospectively"? Oh right, UID in the 10million, another entitled GenZer.

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