If you own an Apple device, but you don’t have much experience with your iPhone, iPad or Mac, it is quite possible that at some point or other you have come across the AirDrop button, which can make us wonder what it is and what it can do. become useful.
The truth is that, once you discover it and know what it works for, possibly not a day goes by when you do not stop using it, especially if we take into account the advantages it offers when transferring files between Apple devices.
What is AirDrop and what does it consist of?
AirDrop is a functionality developed by Apple that allows you to transfer files quickly and easily between devices manufactured by the brand, such as iPhone, iPad and Mac (among others).
To do this, it uses Bluetooth LE technology, which allows to transmit, discover and negotiate connections, while it uses the Wi-Fi connection point to point (Wi-Fi peer-to-peer) in order to transfer data. This makes file transfers truly fast and secure, as well as energy efficient.
It is, therefore, a feature that offers the possibility that both iOS and macOS devices can share files with each other completely wirelessly, all with minimal effort (as we will explain in the section where we tell you how it works and how to use it).
What are the main advantages of using AirDrop
Often when we need to share files or photos with another of our devices, or with any other close person, in most cases we tend to transfer it via Bluetooth connection or by email, which makes us have to have a little patience until the whole process is complete.
However, AirDrop offers us the possibility of doing it as quickly as it is simple. The only requirement is that both devices are from Apple , which means that it does not matter that the device from which we send the file is an iPhone, and the receiving device a Macbook (as long as they are from Apple they are one hundred percent compatible; as long as , yes, they have this functionality because they are not very old).
In this way, we can use AirDrop to quickly share a website from our iPad to our friend’s iPhone, or transfer a Note document to our iPad, to continue working with him on the subway.
How does AirDrop work?
AirDrop uses the Bluetooth connection in order to generate a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between compatible devices, so that it is not necessary to be connected to our router or even to the Internet , in order to share the files. We only have to have the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity of the two devices activated .
Each of these devices creates a firewall around the connection, while the files are sent encrypted , making it a far more secure option than transferring files via email.
In addition, its operation is as simple as it is simple, since the system automatically detects compatible nearby devices , so that they only need to be close enough to be able to establish an adequate Wi-Fi connection.
Precisely, using the Wi-Fi connection makes it possible to share large files, quickly and efficiently, compared to some Android devices that use a combination of NFC (near field communications) and Bluetooth, which tend to be more slow
How to use AirDrop easily
The process is quite simple. You just need to have AirDrop activated on iPhone or iPad , and enable it for close contacts or for everyone. To activate it, we just have to go to the Control Center of our device, hold down the Wi-Fi button and click on AirDrop . Now we will have to activate it for Only contacts or for Everyone .
Finally, when it comes to sharing the files, we just have to look for the file we want to send, touch the Share button (which, as always, we will find located in the lower right part of the screen), and click on the person or device with the one we want to share.
In just a few seconds the file in question will be shared with the other device.
