Yes indeed.
That’s the point, the USER is not a new attack vector, it’s the same very effective one that’s always been. Doesn’t matter what tool they’re using, doesn’t matter how much secure tech anyone puts behind it, USER can defeat any protections.
Apple is part of Wifi Alliance and as a member they propose features to be adopted by the whole members of Wifi Alliance. Apple offered AWDL as the standard but it got rejected instead they used that as a basis to form NAN which Apple contributed to.
They were forced to.
They literally cannot "fix" this without breaking Airdrop for millions of their users.
Correction: Apple has to not even do that. They have to… do nothing. I stand corrected!👍
I agree, sort of. Well, airdrop I don't really need, but iMessage is one reason I don't get iPhones for my kids. Another reason is price.
This is what the EU is striving for, but some diehards on here think that using anything but an apple device on iOS 18 or earlier will kill you.
I think google's long term ambition is for every Android to be able to share. Apple just needs to let contacts easily share from Android, instead of having to set it to everyone.
It may not kill them but it may turn them into an android.
Well, if their user experience on Android is better (God forbid!), than it is perfectly justified!
Reverse engineering IS legal, but theoretically Apple could update the protocol.Apple is part of Wifi Alliance and as a member they propose features to be adopted by the whole members of Wifi Alliance. Apple offered AWDL as the standard but it got rejected instead they used that as a basis to form NAN which Apple contributed to.
Here is Apple making the argument that just because they propose something to Wifi Alliance doesn't mean that it would get adopted.
They were forced to.
On 5 September 2023, the Commission adopted a decision designating Apple as a gatekeeper under
the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for a number of its services, including its operating system iOS.
As a result, Apple must comply with the obligations set out in the DMA.
On 19 September 2024, the Commission opened proceedings pursuant to Article 20(1) of the DMA
in view of specifying the measures Apple must put in place to effectively comply with its
interoperability obligations in relation to several connectivity features, predominantly used for and
by connected devices.
On 18 December 2024, the Commission adopted its preliminary findings setting out the proposed
measures that Apple should implement to ensure effective interoperability with iOS for connected
devices.
In response, Apple themselves proposed that they will make Wifi Aware available to 3rd party developers as an alternative
Airdrop does not use Wifi Aware, Airdrop uses AWDL which is proprietary and patented by Apple. Google reverse engineered the protocol which is legal and that is how they are able Airdrop from Pixels to iPhones and Macs that do not have support for Wifi Aware.
My user experience is much better on android tbh. navigation is so much better, the keyboard, and notification management is miles ahead. Not to mention compatibility with non Apple devices from different manufacturers.
It’s also absurd in 2026 a win32 program can’t run on Linux natively. Lots of things that seem like it would be a no-brainer in tech are head scratchers.
I defeated the many shortcomings of having an iPhone to connect to Other-than-Apple-systems by using documents, vlc and LocalSend for that. Especially with vlc and documents I can use my iPhone just like an USB-stick or an Android device when visiting friends not using Apple devices.
Never heard of wine or playOnLinux? Meanwhile a lot of Windows programs run natively on Linux. Just take a look at for example ZorinOS, which comes with a plethora of tools for running Windows programs natively. That's only one of the many advantages running an open system! 😉
That’s not native. Emulators / code modifiers etc aren’t native, they are add-ons.
Realistically they won't because it would break airdrop combability for lots of Apple devices.
Especially since, instead of adopting the open Wi-Fi Direct, they just reverse engineered Apple’s stack. Apple’s free to change it at any time (and Google’s free to throw money at it to make it work again!).
You're mixing up the protocols. Wi-Fi Direct predates AWDL, and Android has supported it since version 4.1. iOS, however does not support* it. AirDrop uses Apple's AWDL proprietary protocol. Because Apple explicitly kept these protocols completely undocumented for third party use, reverse engineering is literally the only way to make non Apple hardware support Airdrop and Airplay.
First, AWDL was reverse engineered 7 years ago, and Apple hasn't completely changed it because doing so would instantly break backward compatibility for millions of existing Macs and iOS devices. There are open source implementations of AWDL that anyone can use if you are on Linux.
