AirDrop

Read this before upgrading your iPhone 4s to iOS 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 17, 2014

Think twice before updating your rusty old iPhone 4s to the just-released iOS 8 because Apple's feature-packed upgrade makes its handset run most tasks about two times (or more) slower.

iOS 8 will slow down common tasks on the handset, including approximately two times slower launching of stock apps, almost three seconds longer booting and more, ArsTechnica reported Wednesday.

In addition to the performance hit, the three-year-old handset is incompatible with certain hardware-dependent iOS 8 features such as Handoff, AirDrop, the OpenGL ES 3.0 and Metal graphics run-time and more.

Microsoft’s OneDrive for iOS now supports AirDrop, adaptive video streaming and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 11, 2016

Having more than doubled free OneDrive tier from seven to fifteen gigabytes of cloud storage, Microsoft today rolled out an update to its free OneDrive client for iPhone and iPad.

In addition to the inevitable bug fixes and performance improvements, OneDrive now lets you share files via Apple's AirDrop technology and includes HLS support which lets it adapt to your available bandwidth when video-streaming...

AnyDrop 2: share any file using AirDrop

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 29, 2014

AirDrop is such a good feature, but on a jailbroken iPhone it's been turned into a great feature. That's because there's AnyDrop 2—a jailbreak tweak that supercharges the concept of AirDrop, and makes it accessible for any file on the native file system.

Imagine iFile with AirDrop sharing, and you pretty much have AnyDrop. It's more than that, though, because AnyDrop allows you to share media files from your Music app library, Video app library, and Photo app library. It even comes bundled with a hidden feature that lets you download and share YouTube videos called YouTubeDrop.

Needless to Say, AnyDrop 2 is a great jailbreak tweak to have if you're interested in getting more than the pedestrian experience out of AirDrop. Watch our video after the break to see what I mean.

iOS 7: AirDrop video walkthrough

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

As you all know by now, Apple has added new AirDrop functionality to iOS7, a desperately needed function that allows users to share files easily between devices. The tech, which requires both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be enabled, alleviates the stress of needing to quickly share files between users.

We talked about the new AirDrop feature before, but now we have a full blown video walkthrough that showcases the functionality. Take a look inside for more info...

Apple patents mysterious Nearby icon, believed to be part of iOS 7 AirDrop

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 25, 2013

Among the 35 patents the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple Tuesday was a design for a never before seen icon entitled Nearby. The icon could describe a wireless transfer feature expected in iOS 7, called Airdrop. This latest patent dump also unveils new emoticons for Messages, as well as another design patent for Apple's Lightning adapter...

iOS 7 simplifies file sharing with AirDrop

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2013

In addition to Control Center, a new iOS 7 feature which puts often used Settings toggled just a swipe away anywhere in the system, Apple has also made it easier to send your files and documents to other iOS devices and Macs with AirDrop. As you know, Apple launched AirDrop on Macs with OS X Lion.

AirDrop talks to devices directly over Wi-Fi, without the need for an Internet connection or having to join a Wi-Fi network. In fact, the system is hassle-free in that you don't need to configure anything - it just works...

Apple looking to add new AirDrop file sharing feature in iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ June 2, 2013

Everything we've heard regarding iOS 7 up to this point suggests that the update will be rather significant in terms of UI changes. Icons and several other elements have been reportedly redesigned to give the software a more modern look. But what about new features?

According to a new report, in addition to improved in-car behavior for Siri and Maps, and system-level integration of Vimeo and Flickr, Apple is also working on AirDrop for iOS. The feature, which is already available on OS X, will make it easier than ever to share files with other iOS devices...

This is what AirDrop for iOS should look like

Cody Lee ∙ June 8, 2012

If you've ever used a Mac running OS X Lion, then there's a good chance you've played with AirDrop. The drag-and-drop feature allows users to share content between computers on a common Wi-Fi network with understated ease.

It's such a cool feature, in fact, that a lot of folks have wondered when Apple is going to bring it to iOS. Just imagine dragging and dropping files to your iPhone or iPad — it'd be awesome. Especially if it looked anything like this...

iPhone 5 said to tap Broadcom BCM4330 chip for wireless file sharing with Macs

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 2, 2012

9to5Mac reports to have 'discovered' a Broadcom chip inside one of the prototypes of the next iPhone. The write-up specifically menions Broadcom's BCM4334 unit, basically a single-chip, dual-band silicon that supports 802.11n WiFi networking, Bluetooth 4.0+HS and an integrated FM radio receiver.

A successor to Broadcom's BCM4330 - itself fabbed on the 65-nanometer process and found inside the iPad 3 and iPhone 4S - the newer BCM4334 unit is built on the 40-nanometer process, resulting in significant power savings.

As a result of using this chip in the next iPhone, Apple should be able to mitigate power drain stemming from the bigger screen and LTE radios while making a thinner device overall. That's just the beginning. Read on...