AirDroid lets users share files with each other after an update, even if they are not on the same WiFi network. The app probably uses bluetooth for this. This functionality is very similar to Apple’s AirDrop function.

To be able to use the functionality, the user must install version 4.2.5.0. This became available at the end of February. According to the patchnotes , the app with the Nearby function can now also share files to users who use other networks. The Nearby function is therefore not a new function, but is being expanded with this update. Previously, users who wanted to share files with this feature had to be on the same WiFi network. The receiving party does not have to be logged in to the AirDroid app to be able to download the files. The iOS app has this functionality since version 1.0.9 as well.

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

With the AirDroid update, an Android alternative to AirDrop has been added. Telephone 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. This works with Bluetooth and WiFi direct. In a test, the function came out at a partial speed of 28MB / s.