October 12, 2020
AirDrop drop-kicks email to the curb for file transfers
The great thing about older technology is that you already know how to use it. Even though it may take more steps, and be less convenient, it still seems faster.
That might be why AirDrop has yet to become a household word — well, that and the fact that it is Apple only, but more on that later.
Once you learn AirDrop, email reveals itself for the old clunker it really is.
Say, for example, you’ve taken a picture with your iPhone, and you want to do something with it on your Mac. Just tap on the share icon, as you would for email, and choose AirDrop. Then pick where you want it to go.
Within seconds, you see a notification on your Mac that you can click to open the picture in the default app for its format. If the picture is a jpeg, and your default app for jpegs is Photoshop, then that’s the app that will open it.
In an ideal world, AirDrop, or something like it, would be standard for transferring files between all types of devices — Mac, iOS, Android or Windows. There are apps you can download that will do this, but the setup and transfer processes make them about as complicated as email, so why go there?
If you have Apple devices, learn to use AirDrop. If not, hope for a future where AirDrop is a standard.
Update: Even easier — use continuity camera.