AirDroid update adds AirDrop-like file sharing

AirDroid allows users to share files with each other after an update, even if they are not on the same Wi-Fi network. Presumably the app uses bluetooth for this. This functionality is very similar to Apple’s AirDrop feature.

To use the functionality, the user must install version 4.2.5.0. It became available at the end of February. According to the patch notes, with the Nearby feature, the app can now also share files to users who use other networks. The Nearby function is therefore not a new function, but will be expanded with this update. Previously, users who wanted to share files with this feature had to be on the same Wi-Fi network. The receiving party does not need to be logged in to the AirDroid app to download the files. The iOS app also has this functionality since version 1.0.9.

AirDroid does not state which network technology the app uses. AndroidPolice has tested the new functionality, the new function also works when the internet connection is turned off on both phones. The site therefore suspects that sharing via bluetooth works. The file sharing is according to AndroidPolice very slow, with 20KB/s to 70KB/s. The website does not write which phones it used to test the feature.

With the AirDroid update, another Android alternative to AirDrop has been added. Phone manufacturers, among others, are working on their own form of file sharing. Google is also working on a similar function, which will be called Nearby Sharing. It works with bluetooth and wifi direct. In a test, the function came out at a sharing speed of 28MB/s.