iOS 7 May Include AirDrop Wireless File Sharing Capabilities

[4TheLoveOfTech]

You're changing your argument now. The post I responded to was where you said airdrop was like nfc and people would find it revolutionary now because apple did it. No. It is not like nfc.

If you had taken the time to go back to my original post you would have saved yourself some time.

Android already/and has done WiFi Direct for a long time now.

Samsung just added on their own layer that required NFC/Blu-Tooth.

I can WiFi direct any movie or picture to my Smart TV, other "Smart Phones (non Apple) or my computer.

Welcome to 2009 or so. If this is Apple only sharing it is and will be just like FaceTime (that was promised to be open), iMessage and every other iThing that Apple is chasing the puck for.

I use WiFi Direct with my TV, Computer, other smart phones as well as all of the other myriad of transfer services that Android offers both built in and via Apps such as BubbleUpUPNP.

 

[vincenz]

Can't wait for this...finally would let me stop emailing myself 5 pictures at a time

 

[dontpannic]

this should've already been on iphone since 2010 and not in 2013 for f... sake


And let us not forget long time ago (2005) mobile phones already had a great wireless data transfer, it was called bluetooth. You didnt have to be on a same wifi network, hell you didnt even need any cellular network data transfer. Like apple would say - MAGICAL.

Great wireless data transfer and Bluetooth do not belong in the same sentence.

Bluetooth should be used for hands free/audio only IMHO.

 

[Jayomat]

Err, I hate to be the guy but uhh.. this is what my 10.8.3 tells me while being online via ethernet-cabling.. am i doing somethin wrong?

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"First introduced with OS X Lion, AirDrop is a Finder function that allows Mac users to share files with other Mac users without the need for a Wi-Fi network or storage device."

So yes, you're doing it wrong, if there is no mac to be found in close range that started AirDrop as well, he will ask for WiFi obviously

see here

 

[urbanslaughter1997]

Hey Gnasher729,

I'm really confused by your statement,

"Most users implicitly disagree with "iPhone must have a user-visible file system", because they don't even know what a file system is. It's like telling someone who has been driving an automatic car all his life that his car needs a kludge. That person will never say "I don't need a kludge" because they don't even know what it is."

What the hell is a "kludge" - did you mean "clutch"? I have to admit, I've driven automatics and sticks and I've never heard of a "kludge" before.

 

[gotluck]

The hidden file system is key to iOS.

I don't understand why it would be key. If file browsers were allowed in the app store that would not change the experience at all for those that don't want to use it.

No filesystem = no iOS for me / therefore jailbreak required before any iOS purchase

I don't get why everyone has to suffer with 'iOS for dummies'..

 

[3282868]

I like that gingerbread man... hmmmm, gingerbread.

 

[manu chao]

Hey Gnasher729,

I'm really confused by your statement,

"Most users implicitly disagree with "iPhone must have a user-visible file system", because they don't even know what a file system is. It's like telling someone who has been driving an automatic car all his life that his car needs a kludge. That person will never say "I don't need a kludge" because they don't even know what it is."

What the hell is a "kludge" - did you mean "clutch"? I have to admit, I've driven automatics and sticks and I've never heard of a "kludge" before.

Definition of KLUDGE
: a system and especially a computer system made up of poorly matched components

Imagine driving a car with an automatic transmission and then be put behind the wheel of a car with an unsynchronised manual transmission, calling that a kludge is not that far-fetched a choice of words.

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I don't understand why it would be key. If file browsers were allowed in the app store that would not change the experience at all for those that don't want to use it.

No filesystem = no iOS for me / therefore jailbreak required before any iOS purchase

I don't get why everyone has to suffer with 'iOS for dummies'..

The key of success for iOS is not the non-presence of a file system, it's the ability to be operated without having to use a file system. While the former includes the latter, the latter does not include the former.

Economies of scale come with 'iOS for dummies'.

 

[sniffies]

Who cares about this useless feature?!

We've been able to do it since iPhone 1.

Just email the damn photo to your own email or a separate email account specifically intended for emailing photos to yourself. Boom! Done!

 

[tevion5]

I don't get why everyone has to suffer with 'iOS for dummies'..

For me it's a choice thing. I don't like being labeled a dummy for using an easy to use system that accomplishes exactly what I need it to. I don't need to code in c++ when I'm waiting for a bus. I have built x86 machines, Pentium III and up, since I was 10 so I know a lot hardware and therefore as much about software. I have Linux, Windows, OSX, Android and iOS devices in the house. I'm not some illiterate granny. I use my Mac for professional audio production with Avid ProTools. I operate a public Tekkit server. I am many things, certainly not a dummy thank you.

My iPhone is a great web browser, mail client, light gaming, social networking, camera and GPS device all without being jailbroken. For music I add my MP3's to my Mac's iTunes library and sync. Easy. All with appropriate album covers and titles. None of the messy type of song libraries I see on every android device I've ever used.

I use my Mac for serious work and OSX has a great file manager. iOS lacks many features such as having to email yourself pictures is really annoying etc. and I certainly want to see improvements in that regard. Android can undoubtably do more in general but always in a more fiddly way. It's not enjoyable.

 

[Dekema2]

This would be a home run.

 

[pirg]

For me it's a choice thing. I don't like being labeled a dummy for using an easy to use system that accomplishes exactly what I need it to. I don't need to code in c++ when I'm waiting for a bus. I have built x86 machines, Pentium III and up, since I was 10 so I know a lot hardware and therefore as much about software. I have Linux, Windows, OSX, Android and iOS devices in the house. I'm not some illiterate granny. I use my Mac for professional audio production with Avid ProTools. I operate a public Tekkit server. I am many things, certainly not a dummy thank you.

My iPhone is a great web browser, mail client, light gaming, social networking, camera and GPS device all without being jailbroken. For music I add my MP3's to my Mac's iTunes library and sync. Easy. All with appropriate album covers and titles. None of the messy type of song libraries I see on every android device I've ever used.

I use my Mac for serious work and OSX has a great file manager. iOS lacks many features such as having to email yourself pictures is really annoying etc. and I certainly want to see improvements in that regard. Android can undoubtably do more in general but always in a more fiddly way. It's not enjoyable.

Yeah I don't know where the ridiculous notion that only the smart use android started. Probably just a way to make those people feel better about themselves.

There's nothing wrong with wanting something simple and your phone choice has nothing to do with your intelligence.

 

[LeoCastillo]

Oh this is fantastic. I love Airdrop in the Mac.

My friends are astounded when we can transfer files from one Mac to another without even connecting to a wifi network! We transfer files in a car!

 

[tevion5]

Yeah I don't know where the ridiculous notion that only the smart use android started. Probably just a way to make those people feel better about themselves.

There's nothing wrong with wanting something simple and your phone choice has nothing to do with your intelligence.

I agree

 

[neuropsychguy]

I've always had problems with airdrop, either I could never connect to the computer, or the file transfer was going to take hours for 1 GB. This was always with the computers within 10 ft of each other and I was controlling them both.

It's always been the same for me for whatever reason. I can literally sit the computers next to each other and they either won't find one another or it will transfer so slowly that I can usually dig up a USB drive, copy, and copy faster than I can get AirDrop to work. However, sometimes it works without any problems, it's just unreliable enough that I generally sneakernet my files.

 

[gotluck]

For me it's a choice thing.

Exactly, it should be a choice thing. Use a file manager if you'd like or keep using iOS in its current state. Does having it locked down make you feel better about your desire to not use a file browser or something?

My whole point is that Apple should let people choose...

It's really ridiculous how even more robust these devices are once you strip away apple's restrictions.

 

[chagla]

S Drop

- Samsung

actually Android phones (not just Samsung) has 3rd party apps for this purpose. in addition to being able to transfer any file on any computer using any browser, you can do many other things (backup/restore/send/receive sms etc) without touching your Android device. Lookup "Airdroid" for instance. maybe this airdrop feature will ONLY allow sharing pictures. i highly doubt you will get real access to file systems.

 

[urbanslaughter1997]

Definition of KLUDGE
: a system and especially a computer system made up of poorly matched components

Imagine driving a car with an automatic transmission and then be put behind the wheel of a car with an unsynchronised manual transmission, calling that a kludge is not that far-fetched a choice of words.

----------



The key of success for iOS is not the non-presence of a file system, it's the ability to be operated without having to use a file system. While the former includes the latter, the latter does not include the former.

Economies of scale come with 'iOS for dummies'.

Somehow I still think he meant "clutch"

 

[ydangle]

Potential problem for us as developers

This comes as a bit of a blow for us as developers. We launched an app last week that does something similar. Sharing files between iOS, Mac, Windows, Linux all with the flick of a finger. Flick. automotically connects devices that are running the app and for iOS over bluetooth as well. Files are flicked from one device to another.... We think we cracked the sharing problem in a novel way... but it is one of the problems app developers face when they try to close shortcomings in the OS. Pity we did not have the app ready a few months earlier. The only thing that may work in our favour is that the Android version is almost ready so Flicking files accross most platforms will be covered.

We will watch closely to see how they have done this as we have a patent pending.

 

[charlesdayton]

What sort of education/training does that involve?

http://www.eecs.ucf.edu/ece/ece-files/majors/CpE/CpE_4YearPlan_2012-2013.pdf

 

[ydangle]

How about Windows XP and 7 then? I want my iOS devices able to drop file into my company's PC as well.

Even so I will wait for my Korean-made phones to dead before considering another iOS phone.

Flick. can already to this.

 

[Jimmy James]

This will be helpful but Apple still needs to implement a built in file system.

Agreed. My top 2 iOS requests are some type of wifi direct and a file system.

I don't see Apple providing a file system and most of my files are in third party apps. So for me it would not be practical for sharing with others' devices and I already sync alot of stuff via wifi inside the apps. In short, no file system = limited benefit.

 

[jclardy]

Or it could be implemented similarly to the "share" panel that already exists where you initiate it inside of particular apps rather than as a single system wide app.

They could, but I imagine it would at least be some kind of file storage app. Just because if you drag multiple files I wouldn't expect to have to "open in" each individual one...

But that may just be me hoping for a more open platform (Not open in the Android sense, but giving third party developers a little leeway to improve inter-app communication/data sharing...)

 

[sennekuyl]

AirDrop relies on a technology called Wifi Direct to allow it to connect to other devices without connecting to an existing wireless network. WD has been in macs for a while, but the new Broadcom wireless chip in the iP5 is the first to support it in the iPhone.

No. I can tether and pass files to my Mac no problem despite having earlier models of iphone. The only reason this isn't available is because the effort hasn't been put in or someone is being bloody minded.

 

[Renzatic]

Can't wait for this...finally would let me stop emailing myself 5 pictures at a time

This should be upvoted a thousand times now.

Really, I don't care how good or bad this new, flatter iOS looks (well, I do, but it's not absolutely critically important), what I care about is being able to use my iPad more like a proper computer with a proper OS. I don't want to be tied to just Dropbox or iTunes to transfer files and music back and forth between my machines. I want something more open. Something that isn't so rigid. Something a little less cumbersome to use.

Airdrop sharing would be a good first step towards making this happen.