Google has announced that Android users will be able to share files wirelessly with iOS devices, starting with its Pixel 10 line of phones. “This is just the first step as we work to improve the experience and expand it to more devices,” the company said, in a blog post.
While there are existing apps available from the Google Play Store that are similar in function, this is the first time that such interoperability has been built into the base Android operating system.
There isn’t complete parity between users’ experiences in pure iOS device environments. Nearby Apple devices will only appear on the Pixel screen’s sharing page if the Android user has set their device’s Quick Share settings to [share with] “Everyone for 10 minutes” – meaning, the ability is only temporary and has to be restarted once the time limit is up.
One missing feature is the ability for Android Quick Share users to only connect with known contacts, something that’s only available currently on iOS. However, Google has said it would welcome any opportunity to work with Apple in the future to bring the option to its users. There is no official partnership between the two companies, and the Android feature has been developed and implemented independently from its biggest rival, at least officially.
File sharing (text, video, images) is fully two-way, and correctly-configured Android devices will present themselves to Apple users among nearby iOS devices as possible recipients and senders of files.
While the protocol and software stack used by Apple for AirDrop (Apple Wireless Direct Link – AWDL) is closed, many industry pundits believe it’s the EU that has forced Apple to share enough information with Google to avoid censure under the Interoperability clauses of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple is affected by two sets of measures under the DMA, the first of which includes file sharing between platforms. The second set of measures (DMA.100204) “aims to increase the transparency and effectiveness of the process that developers need to follow to obtain interoperability with iOS and iPadOS.”
The latter suggests that users of all platforms should see a slackening of the traditionally very tight secrecy Apple throws around its technology, letting developers into at least parts of the infamous Apple ‘walled garden.’
AWDL uses devices’ IPv6 addresses and acts regardless of the devices’ MAC addresses. Although the technology could have been reverse-engineered by Google, it seems more likely that the information necessary to implement AirDrop on Android was passed between the companies.
The recent development highlights a facet of the Apple business machine well-known both in and outside the industry: It implements any changes imposed on it by outside legislatures to comply with the content of the law, rather than its spirit.
For example, work by volunteers to reverse-engineer the architecture of the company’s M1 and M2-based hardware is not subject to any legal action taken by Apple, but information that may help such efforts is not disclosed willingly by the company.
Although the legislative processes of the European Union move slowly, the size of the bloc gives its legislators significant weight on the world stage and a corresponding heft to the pressure it can apply to US-based technology providers.
Apple’s abandonment of the proprietary lightning connector for its portable devices in favour of the standard USB C format was indubitably caused by the EU’s decisions on the grounds of interoperability. That change was implemented on all Apple devices worldwide, as has been the change of heart with regards to AirDrop compatibility.
(Image source: “Android robot toy” by eleZeta is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.)
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