Apple has many features that contribute towards the success of its iOS ecosystem. Some features are exclusively available in iPhones, such as iMessage, FaceTime, iTunes, and others, making Android rivals miss out on some goodness. But if it is up to some Chinese brands, a taste of what it's like to be a part of the iOS club isn't entirely impossible.
Taking a page from Apple's playbook, three main Chinese smartphone players, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, have joined hands to enable seamless transfer of content between devices at high speeds. Ring any bells? It's an AirDrop clone in the works and users of Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo phones can only be thankful for it.
"This three-brand partnership aims to bring the millions of OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi users across the world effortless and more user-centric file-sharing. This is a significant first step for OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi to better serve their users collectively, and we also welcome other Android smartphone brands to get involved and provide a more open, effortless, and interactive experience for users," Andy Wu, Vice President of OPPO, told IANS.
AirDrop for Android
The "Inter-Transfer Alliance Group" between three major smartphone brands was announced in August to enable high-speed transfers between devices. After testing with beta users for several months, the technology is finally available to the masses.
The P2P technology for data transfer between Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo smartphones works offline and uses Bluetooth. This allows for users to share files at an incredible 20Mb/s speeds.
In Xiaomi phones, the technology is used in Mi Share but doesn't work on some models, including Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi 6, Redmi 6A, Redmi 7A, Redmi 7, Redmi S2, Redmi 8, Redmi 8A, Redmi Note 8, and Redmi Note 8T. The feature is available on phones running Android Pie or later OS.
In the case of Oppo phones, the technology is called Oppo Share and works with devices running Android 10-based ColorOS or later versions. Since the ColorOS isn't widely available yet, it works with Reno 2, Reno 10X Zoom, F11 Pro, F11 Pro Marvel Limited Edition and F11. In the coming months, more Oppo phones will receive support for the high-speed P2P transfers.
As for Vivo phones, the feature will be available starting next month.
It is the compatibility of this technology with more brands that make it useful. Otherwise, Android users already had an AirDrop alternative in the form of Huawei Share, which works miraculously fast while sharing data between Huawei smartphones.
