5 ms·

Google cracked Apple's AirDrop and is adding it to Pixel phones

41 points by CharlesW 11mo ago

ChrisArchitect 11mo ago
[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45994854 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45994854
jeffwask 11mo ago
And then Apple will change it and we'll have another quiet compatibility war like with text messages.
- bitpush 11mo ago
  > Under pressure from the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple is being forced to ditch its proprietary peer-to-peer Wi-Fi protocol – Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) – in favor of the industry-standard Wi-Fi Aware, also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN). A quietly published EU interoperability roadmap mandates Apple support Wi-Fi Aware 4.0 in iOS 19 and v5.0,1 thereafter, essentially forcing AWDL into retirement. This post investigates how we got here (from Wi-Fi Direct to AWDL to Wi-Fi Aware), what makes Wi-Fi Aware technically superior, and why this shift unlocks true cross-platform peer-to-peer connectivity for developers. Apple cant do anything without angering EU.
  - hshdhdhj4444 11mo ago
    Apple can’t do anything <to entrench its monopoly> without angering EU. Ironically one of Apple’s biggest selling points in the last 4-5 years of iPhone releases, the switch to USB-C, was pretty much forced by the EU. So far it appears Apple benefits more than it’s hurt by the EU’s anti-monopolistic decisions.
    - ta9000 11mo ago
      [dead]
    - musicale 11mo ago
      > the switch to USB-C, was pretty much forced by the EU. Apple went all-in on USB-C/Thunderbolt for the Mac in 2016. The iPad Pro got USB-C in 2018. Apple had been involved with USB for a long time. The original iMac (1998) was notable for dropping ADB (which Apple had used since 1986) for USB. Apple was also part of the USB-C forum, and rolled out Lightning in 2012 with the iPhone 5, rather than waiting for USB-C (2014). Apple promised 10 years of support for Lightning, commensurate with its predecessor, the 30-pin iPod/iPhone connector which Apple introduced in 2003. This support was important for customers as well as accessory makers.
jauntywundrkind 11mo ago
There was a snarky comment yesterday about hackers hating governments, being unable to trust them. But this is the counterpoint. More Anti-Anti-Circumvention Laws! Please! Defend our ability to explore & interoperate & extend! The world ought be open to mankind & unfurling possible futures. It's so grand seeing governments finally putting some points on the board for improving access to systems, letting us see & grasp the constructed technological world we are submersed in.
- aeonfox 11mo ago
  People who are categorically against government intervention get weird when such an intervention shown to be An Undeniably Good Thing™. In contrast, for such people the idea that libertarianism might have Bad Consequences™ for personal liberties, or even their sacred financial system, isn't entertained.
renecito 11mo ago
hacked? LOL! Apple and Google had worked before together, remember Covid contact alerts?
- bitpush 11mo ago
  > When we asked Google whether it developed this feature with or without Apple’s involvement, Moriconi confirmed it was not a collab. “We accomplished this through our own implementation,” he tells The Verge.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - jdibs 11mo ago
    That they wrote their own implementation does not mean that they reverse-engineered the protocol.
otterley 11mo ago
Google didn't "crack" anything. This was done with Apple's cooperation. I realize you're quoting the article title verbatim, but The Verge ought to be ashamed of themselves.
- mikestew 11mo ago
  And the Google rep says otherwise: When we asked Google whether it developed this feature with or without Apple’s involvement, Moriconi confirmed it was not a collab. “We accomplished this through our own implementation,”
  - stefanfisk 11mo ago
    Couldn’t that just be interpreted as ”this is 100% our code, but Apple helped us sort out the technical details”?
    - izacus 11mo ago
      No, where do you see anything remotely close to your assertion?

41 points by CharlesW 11mo ago

ChrisArchitect 11mo ago

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45994854 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45994854

jeffwask 11mo ago

And then Apple will change it and we'll have another quiet compatibility war like with text messages.

bitpush 11mo ago
> Under pressure from the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple is being forced to ditch its proprietary peer-to-peer Wi-Fi protocol – Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) – in favor of the industry-standard Wi-Fi Aware, also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN). A quietly published EU interoperability roadmap mandates Apple support Wi-Fi Aware 4.0 in iOS 19 and v5.0,1 thereafter, essentially forcing AWDL into retirement. This post investigates how we got here (from Wi-Fi Direct to AWDL to Wi-Fi Aware), what makes Wi-Fi Aware technically superior, and why this shift unlocks true cross-platform peer-to-peer connectivity for developers. Apple cant do anything without angering EU.
- hshdhdhj4444 11mo ago
  Apple can’t do anything <to entrench its monopoly> without angering EU. Ironically one of Apple’s biggest selling points in the last 4-5 years of iPhone releases, the switch to USB-C, was pretty much forced by the EU. So far it appears Apple benefits more than it’s hurt by the EU’s anti-monopolistic decisions.
  - ta9000 11mo ago
    [dead]
  - musicale 11mo ago
    > the switch to USB-C, was pretty much forced by the EU. Apple went all-in on USB-C/Thunderbolt for the Mac in 2016. The iPad Pro got USB-C in 2018. Apple had been involved with USB for a long time. The original iMac (1998) was notable for dropping ADB (which Apple had used since 1986) for USB. Apple was also part of the USB-C forum, and rolled out Lightning in 2012 with the iPhone 5, rather than waiting for USB-C (2014). Apple promised 10 years of support for Lightning, commensurate with its predecessor, the 30-pin iPod/iPhone connector which Apple introduced in 2003. This support was important for customers as well as accessory makers.

jauntywundrkind 11mo ago

There was a snarky comment yesterday about hackers hating governments, being unable to trust them. But this is the counterpoint. More Anti-Anti-Circumvention Laws! Please! Defend our ability to explore & interoperate & extend! The world ought be open to mankind & unfurling possible futures. It's so grand seeing governments finally putting some points on the board for improving access to systems, letting us see & grasp the constructed technological world we are submersed in.

aeonfox 11mo ago
People who are categorically against government intervention get weird when such an intervention shown to be An Undeniably Good Thing™. In contrast, for such people the idea that libertarianism might have Bad Consequences™ for personal liberties, or even their sacred financial system, isn't entertained.

renecito 11mo ago

hacked? LOL! Apple and Google had worked before together, remember Covid contact alerts?

bitpush 11mo ago
> When we asked Google whether it developed this feature with or without Apple’s involvement, Moriconi confirmed it was not a collab. “We accomplished this through our own implementation,” he tells The Verge.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- jdibs 11mo ago
  That they wrote their own implementation does not mean that they reverse-engineered the protocol.

otterley 11mo ago

Google didn't "crack" anything. This was done with Apple's cooperation. I realize you're quoting the article title verbatim, but The Verge ought to be ashamed of themselves.

mikestew 11mo ago
And the Google rep says otherwise: When we asked Google whether it developed this feature with or without Apple’s involvement, Moriconi confirmed it was not a collab. “We accomplished this through our own implementation,”
- stefanfisk 11mo ago
  Couldn’t that just be interpreted as ”this is 100% our code, but Apple helped us sort out the technical details”?
  - izacus 11mo ago
    No, where do you see anything remotely close to your assertion?