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KDE Connect Now Available on iOS
- burstmode 4y agoIs it possible to use this without a phone, just connecting 2 PCs ?
- _Microft 4y agoReddit says that this should work: https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/7x80gh/pairing_two_desktop_devices_with_kde_connect/ https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/7x80gh/pairing_two_des...
- diffeomorphism 4y agoYes, any 2 devices, e.g. also 2 phones.
- xattt 4y agoThe killer feature would be message integration, but their own Features page in the app says it’s unlikely. Dell had a mobile connect app that’s artificially limited to Dell machines on Windows that somehow is able to accomplish this feat.
- rahimnathwani 4y ago"somehow is able to accomplish this feat" Via Bluetooth.
- criddell 4y agoSo, in theory, KDE Connect could do it as well? I wonder if it could be an AirDrop peer?
- starik36 4y agoVery nicely done. I can see that it's the first version and there are some discoverability issues. But the functionality is great! My wish list would be to add the app to the Share sheet when sharing a photo. And on the other side (Windows in my case), it would be nice to have an indicator that the file has arrived.
- jeroenhd 4y agoI recommend this to all iOS users that are also on Linux (or run KDE Connect on Windows) because KDE Connect is an awesome piece of software. I do find it interesting that they've published a GPLv3 application in Apple's App Store, though. I recall the App Store and GPLv3 not going together well, though I must admit that I never cared enough to read into the details.
- flatiron 4y agoApple itself when I worked there was strict on having no gpl3. But everything on the inside is Linux. They even have their own version of arch (and Java and spring boot which is what I did)
- pabs3 4y agoWhy are Apple using Linux instead of macOS?
- flatiron 4y agoSo they can use servers? And those people who write that software for those servers can test. You think iCloud is off Mac minis?
- oefrha 4y agoWell, in the old days Apple did use some Xserves.
- pabs3 4y agoI figured they would have an internal build of macOS for servers, seems like the logical thing to do.
- ravi-delia 4y agoI feel almost disappointed they don't at least run FreeBSD, but I guess it makes sense. They make a desktop OS, and most of the talent on the market has used Linux.
- anyfoo 4y agoI hope this supports Shortcuts, that would make it even more awesome. I have Shortcuts on my iPhone that issue commands over ssh and perform HTTP uploads and requests (works out of the box on both iOS and macOS), but if I could send e.g. results to a non-Airdrop desktop or would be even better.
- nozzlegear 4y agoJust curious, can you give some examples of what you do with those shortcuts? I just purchased my first Mac and I’ve been looking for shortcut/automation ideas.
- kdecomnect 4y agoI’m interested in what they’re talking about as well (non kde) sounds cool as heck
- anyfoo 4y agoI've got a shortcut which you apply through sharing on pictures (or lets you select them from Photos if you call it directly), and calls a script on my server which takes the picture as data on stdin. The script on the server processes the picture and puts it online on my webserver, and returns the new URL back on stdout. The shortcut takes that URL, puts it in clipboard, opens it in Safari, and offers you to send it via Airdrop to somewhere. Works on iOS and macOS, and on macOS I have a variant that calls the shortcut but with a screenshot, i.e. it first asks me to select a part of the screen and uses that.
- konart 4y agoShortcuts are not yet implemented but on the list
- soheil 4y ago> Remote presentation remote: control a laser pointer on the screen of your computer by moving your phone around. How does it detect the phone movement and its relative position?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- makeworld 4y agoI've used this feature. When you click the pointer button, the "laser pointer" overlay appears in the middle of your screen. When you rotate your phone, it moves on the screen, presumably detecting using the gyroscope. So the way it works is by assuming you are pointing at the center of the screen when you first click (and then hold) the pointer button. It's not a bad assumption, it my experience it works pretty well.
- meibo 4y agoThis is also how Nintendo Switch games "emulate" the Wiimote cursor in Wii ports. It's quite functional, even though you have to end up resetting the position of the cursor every 10 minutes or so.
- soheil 4y agoVery clever
- bogwog 4y agoA lot of modern TV remotes have this exact feature too, including stock remotes that come with some LG TVs, and a bunch of cheap third party ones.
- rascul 4y agoI don't have much use for KDE Connect currently but I've used it in the past. It can be quite handy. It was very useful for replying to text messages when my phone wasn't around, for example. I do like to see KDE software propagating outside of the KDE world (KHTML is a great example of that).
- hsbauauvhabzb 4y agoI don’t see this function in the App Store app, I’d love to use my phone remotely, is this possible without a mac device?
- username190 4y agoUnfortunately this isn't allowed on iOS - Dell Mobile Connect is the only app I know of which has this functionality, and they access Messages via a Bluetooth connection between the computer and the iPhone.
- pzmarzly 4y agoI implemented a daemon for reading notifications (including SMS) on Linux https://github.com/pzmarzly/ancs4linux https://github.com/pzmarzly/ancs4linux Adding support for sending SMS shouldn't be hard, but I don't have time recently to work on that. https://github.com/pzmarzly/ancs4linux/issues/10 https://github.com/pzmarzly/ancs4linux/issues/10
- zxspectrum1982 4y agoThere is also KDE Connect for Android, if that's your question: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdecon...
- flatiron 4y agoAllowing apps to read your texts is a can of worms apple isn’t willing to open.
- nabla9 4y agoI have been using it few days. Promising but not there yet. It loses connection after short time, don't get it back, makes it unusable after while. You can move only few images/files at the time or it hangs. Had some discoverability issues. It has many cool features, but it's still alpha quality.
- sithadmin 4y agoThose are the same issues that seem to plague the Android version.
- BenjiWiebe 4y agoI've had issues like that too, but somehow at some point I seem to have everything working correctly for many months now. Android <-> KDE though, so best case scenario. Shared clipboard is the nicest feature for me.
- eliaspro 4y agoWhich only works in recent Android versions if you root your device and use hacks to give KDE Connect access to the clipboard.
- yorwba 4y agoThe KDE Connect → global Android clipboard direction still works like before (I think; my phone is rooted but I didn't do anything special to KDE Connect). In the other direction there's the "Send clipboard" button which is good enough for my needs.
- heavyset_go 4y agoI found it to be stable on rolling release distributions. I had issues with it on Ubuntu.
- zikohh 4y agoHad used it on Windows. The functionality is good. Quite buggy though.
- heavyset_go 4y agoKDE Connect is one of those unsung features that really should be front and center in Plasma's marketing, and elsewhere, since it is available on more than just Plasma Desktop.
- sph 4y agoKDE Connect has the problem of having KDE in the front of its name, which really limits its adoption. I'm deep in the Linux world and I only recently found out this app exists, works on GNOME and works on anything which ain't a KDE phone - I don't even know if it's a thing. KDE developers really like their brand name, or at least putting a K in front of their name.
- dpacmittal 4y agoShould've named it konnect
- M0r13n 4y agoThat is actually a brilliant idea!
- WastingMyTime89 4y agoKDE Connect really is a gem. It allows between a Linux desktop and both Android and Iphone a level of integration which you could only have sticking inside the Apple ecosystem or using both a Huawei phone and laptop. With a bit more polish from a UX point of view regarding desktop integration and better branding it should be a killer feature.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dhruvmittal 4y agoReminder that the KDE Connect app also works with the Gnome Shell version GSConnect https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/
- jonathannerat 4y agoAlso reminder that it works with mconnect [1], an implementation in vala. I'm linking a fork since the original repo hasn't seen any recent commits (at least in master, looks like the owner has been trying to rewrite it first in Rust and now in Go) 1: https://github.com/grimpy/mconnect https://github.com/grimpy/mconnect
- lordofgibbons 4y agoI can't find the extension on the gnome extensions website. Getting a 404 when following the readme link: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1272/mconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1272/mconnect/
- jbhouse 4y agothis is incredible, I'm so glad to hear it
- savant_penguin 4y agoDoes it/will it support Bluetooth? As is usually happens, the places I generally need kde connect are the ones with the worst internet connectivity
- diffeomorphism 4y agoIIRC there is a bluetooth build for Android since a few years ago. Too buggy/beta though.
- heavyset_go 4y agoPretty sure it's IP based, but I haven't really looked.
- nyanpasu64 4y agoKDE Connect is LAN/WLAN-based only. I have good experiences (no connection issues that I remember) using it between KDE and Android, and some trouble between Android phones, but last time I tried it would crash on Windows when I slept the computer.
- jraph 4y agoIt should work if you manage to share a network connection through Bluetooth between the devices.
- _Algernon_ 4y agoDoes it not work with a ad hoc wireless network? That seems perfect for situations without a wireless router.
- jraph 4y agoYes it does, I've done it in trains. Either by sharing the computer's wifi to the phone or the phone's wifi to the computer. It also works with when sharing the phone's connection via USB.
- theamk 4y agoThis looks great! It is unfortunate that it is KDE based though.. I think having it be DM agnostic would give it more users and contributors. (I haven't checked, but I assume that even if it can be started with other DMs, it will still require most of KDE's daemons, effectively forcing users to run two DMs at once)
- shirro 4y agoGSConnect runs under Gnome and doesn't load any kde components. There are probably other implementations as well.
- seltzered_ 4y agoKDE connect, from my understanding, is almost more of a protocol than needing the KDE Desktop manager. I've actually never used KDE Connect on a desktop yet use GSConnect on gnome, Soduto (https://soduto.com/ https://soduto.com/) on mac, etc.
- diffeomorphism 4y agoKDE!= plasma. It works just fine on any DE and even windows. Additionally there are reimplemtations like gsconnect,... > I haven't checked, but I assume.... You assume incorrectly.
- IceWreck 4y agoOther applications can implement KDE Connect's desktop API so that they all work with KDE Connect's app. Eg: Gnome's GSConnect
- jcelerier 4y agoI use it with i3 and don't have a particular amount of KDE daemons running
- rlopezcc 4y agoI use KDE Connect every day. I use it to control the volume and screen brightness of my laptop when it's out of reach and many other things. The mouse cursor functionality is great and works flawlessly.
- captn3m0 4y agoLooking for more apps designed for the Linux/iOS crowd. Firefox for eg syncs stuff well. Maybe BitWarden?
- Karsteski 4y agoDamn never knew about this KDE Connect, seems very useful. Definitely gonna give it a try now
- lordofgibbons 4y agoThis is super cool! I can't believe I haven't run into KDE Connect even after years of using Linux desktop
- bfung 4y agoNot intending to be dismissive, but what’s the use case of KDE Connect for iOS (and indirectly Apple users)? On one hand, as an iOS user and also owning iPads and MacBooks, I already get all the notifications across all my devices. I do also use Ubuntu (rarely) hooked up to my tv as a “cheap” media player. Reading the KDE Connect descriptions, they all describe ways user can connect this and that and get notifications… but still a bit unclear of the value prop. Could I now, install KDE Connect, and control my MATE/Gnome desktop, w/o converting it all to KDE? (Yeah, I know I can install packages and pick the desktop env… just asking what’s the value prop of and tell me a story of what I can do with this that I couldn’t before)
- diffeomorphism 4y agoFirst off, it is called kdeconnect, not plasmaconnect. Works just fine with any desktop environment. > I already get notification on all my devices. Really, you get iPhone notifications on your linux laptop? You can just drag and drop files between your devices? Get Mediaplayer controls for your PC on your phone? Chat notifications and replies?..... Inb4: No, but between my mac and iPhone. Yeah, were do you think apple copied these features from?
- aendruk 4y ago> owning iPads and MacBooks, I already get Then it sounds like this isn’t for you. For those of us using Linux, it’s a precious sliver of interoperability.
- konart 4y ago>Could I now, install KDE Connect, and control my MATE/Gnome desktop, w/o converting it all to KDE? Yes, yo just need to install Gnome extension https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1319/gsconnect/ It uses the same protocol. You don't need KDE on your desktop. As for the "why" part: suppose you have both a macbook and a fedora desktop you want your phone (or an iPad) "integrated" with fedora just as well as with macOS? Here you go.
- bfung 4y ago
- smegsicle 4y agowould be cool if it could emulate a joypad
- konart 4y agoAt the very least you can control your desktop cursor with your finger.
- sudhirkhanger 4y agoIt seems when transferring pictures they are converted to jpeg/jpg and not as heif.
- sph 4y agoWhen I tried the alpha version I remember they were transferred as HEIF files. Perhaps they've changed it recently, but AFAIR there's a setting somewhere on iOS to change the image format. Do you have it set to JPEG somehow?
- sudhirkhanger 4y agoI don't. I think just because HEIF is not popular a lot of services does the conversion first and then transfer.
- johnwalkr 4y agoI made a shortcut for this, to convert to jpeg then send by airdrop.
- sudhirkhanger 4y agoIf you want then in jpeg then why do you do the conversion. You can have your device take pictures in jpeg.
- johnwalkr 4y agoI like HEIF and live photos, but sometimes I need JPEG to use in a work document.
- CommanderData 4y agoIntel had a similar keyboard/mouse app. The experience was seemless and elegant but it was scrapped. I've tried KDE connect but it does not compare, and is often a little buggy.
- pmontra 4y agoI don't know if that Intel software was only about keyboard and mouse but KDEConnect does much more than that. I'm using it with my GNOME laptop and my Android phones and tablet to send files from one device to another one, open browser tabs usually from phone to desktop and occasionally to ring my phone from the desktop when I don't find it. Keyboard and mouse, almost never. Edit: it also mutes the audio of the laptop when I make or receive a call on the phone.
- chupasaurus 4y agoProbably because KDE Connect was made originally on top of KIO [0] library, which wasn't designed for real time data exchange. [0] https://community.kde.org/KIO https://community.kde.org/KIO
- mmerickel 4y agoIs there anything like this on iOS for controlling macOS?
- konart 4y agoYes, Universal Control https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212757 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212757 (+ Universal Clipboard)
- mmerickel 4y agoThat's for using macOS input devices to control iPadOS. I was interested in using something on my phone to control my mac. From what I can tell "Switch Control" is probably it, but it looks pretty tricky to setup so far!
- capableweb 4y agoSeemed great, until I installed it and tried to use it. Apparently, you need to keep the app in the foreground to work, making it relatively useless for now. Looking forward to it getting a proper MVP/beta release in the future :)
- whalesalad 4y agoI repurposed a 2015-ish Macbook Pro as a "year of the linux desktop" dogfooding machine. I am running EndeavourOS (Arch under the hood) and it has honestly been an incredible experience. KDE has come SO FAR from the old days! (to put things in perspective when I first started using KDE, the Linux kernel was on version 2.4) Really the only thing I miss is iMessage and all of the other "quality of life" things you get in the Apple ecosystem. Definitely going to start using KDE Connect now that I can run it on my iPhone. What a time to be alive!
- netheril96 4y agoThe copy paste between multiple devices work fantastically. For sending files, I would like to send HEIC instead of JPEG files. It doesn’t seem possible right now.