It’s no secret that Android and iPhone regularly borrow from each other. Usually, the features on one side are useful to the other side, too. However, Google is currently in the process of adopting a classic iPhone feature, and I have my doubts that Android users will care.
On the iPhone, the feature is called “NameDrop,” and it allows two devices to share contact info by simply tapping them together. While it’s only been available for less than three years, NameDrop has become a classic, regularly used feature among iPhone owners. Google’s implementation sounds more useful, but that hasn’t mattered in the past.
Android’s NameDrop clone will be better
Tapping phones is a great way to share stuff
iPhone owners have two methods to share stuff with other iPhone owners: NameDrop for contact info, and AirDrop for photos, videos, links, and everything else. NameDrop requires physically touching devices, while AirDrop can transfer content from further away over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Currently, Android phones can do all of this with a feature called “Quick Share” (formerly “Nearby Share”). Like AirDrop, it transfers content with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. However, Google is working on bolstering Quick Share with a new “Tap to Share” option.
Like NameDrop, Tap to Share will require physically touching two Android phones together to make a transfer. However, the big difference is in what you can transfer. Tap to Share won’t be limited to only contact info—photos, videos, links, and more will also be supported.
The expansion of what you can share and receive instantly makes Android’s Tap to Share more useful than NameDrop. With AirDrop and Quick Share, you have to fiddle with share menus and select specific devices to send your content to (or accept incoming transfers). Tapping phones together bypasses much of that since you’re making those choices with physical actions.
Imagine you’re sitting with a friend, looking through photos, and you want to send one to them. Sure, it’s easy to find them on AirDrop/Quick Share or text them, but simply touching phones requires very little thought and effort.
Who needs AirDrop on Android when this open-source alternative exists
AirDrop is amazing, and iPhone owners everywhere use it regularly. However, its biggest limitation is that it only works on Apple devices. And while Google recently broke through that wall and got AirDrop working on Pixel devices, my Samsung Galaxy doesn’t have that luxury. I don’t need it, though, because this open-source alternative already exists.
Android struggles with the “network effect”
Quality doesn’t matter if no one uses it
Now, all of this sounds great, but we’ve heard it before. I’ve mentioned Quick Share a few times, and it was a big deal when it launched as “Nearby Share” back in 2022. Finally, Android phones had their own version of AirDrop. Google eventually brought it to Windows PCs as well.
Quick Share is genuinely a great feature, but it’s just not something most Android owners use or even know about. Tap the “Share” button in any Android app, and you’ll be greeted with a plethora of sharing options. If you aren’t familiar with Quick Share, it’s very easy to miss. Not to mention you need other people to know about it, too, if you want to actually use it
Tap to Share won’t be Android’s first attempt at transferring content by physically touching phones together, either. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was released in 2011 with a feature called “Android Beam.” By touching phones back-to-back, it could send webpages, YouTube videos, and contact info. It was a neat party trick, but no one really used it.
The reality is, it’s difficult to get Android’s massive user base on board with new features. Item trackers in the Android ecosystem are a perfect example of this. Based on the sheer number of Android devices in the world, the Find Hub should be an excellent network for finding stuff. In real life, that’s far from true, as not enough devices have opted in.
The technical term for all of this is “network effect.” Certain things rely more on people using them than on the quality of the thing itself. If millions of people use a crappy messaging app, it doesn’t matter how much better an alternative is if there’s no one to message on it. Tap to Share sounds great on paper, but its usefulness and success will heavily rely on people knowing about it. Can Google educate the Android masses?
6 experimental Android features that were way ahead of their time
If there’s one thing Android is known for, it’s being on the bleeding edge of technology. Countless features have debuted on Android devices years before they made it to the iPhone. However, even Android was too far ahead of the game sometimes.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
