Not too long ago, I wrote about LocalSend. This is an operating system agnostic way to share large files between Android, iOS, Windows and Apple Mac devices. I’m a mixed platform guy. I carry iOS and Android while working across both Mac and Windows devices. I share large files between all of these devices. Sharing between Apple devices is a dream thanks to AirDrop, but AirDrop would only works in Apple’s ecosystem.
AirDrop has long been one feature Apple users have dangled over Android as being “one reason iOS is better than Android”. But that’s potentially coming going to change, thanks to the EU.
EU Wants AirDrop and AirPlay Open to Android
The European Union (EU) has been pressuring Apple to cease closing off features from users for no good reason. One example of this is allowing third-party app stores, which ultimately has allowed retro gaming on iOS devices. Hallelujah.
This week, the EU released a new document outlining how it wanted Apple to open up some services to non-Apple users. The biggest feature getting a mention was AirDrop. The EU wants Apple to make the technology behind this superfast file transfer method work with Android, and other operating systems too.
Going further, the EU also wants media casting, or AirPlay as Apple calls it, to also work with other platforms.
The EU also wants proximity triggered pairing, which allows for AirPods to pair “magically”, to work with non-Apple products and also automatic sharing of WiFi passwords between trusted devices.
The EU expects these changes to be in place come the end of 2025 as part of the next major iOS release. So this, in theory, could be in place by September 2025. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.
