This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Hell has frozen over, and Google has just brought AirDrop to its Pixel phones. The surprise would have been even larger if Apple and Google had collaborated on the project together, but either way, the fact is that Apple's once steadfast walled garden is consistently crumbling down with every passing year and is becoming that much more open, willingly or not.
Now, the betting pool for what other unique Apple services might willingly or unwillingly get opened up is getting populated by the minute, yet third-party services and apps that can bridge that gap for you exist and make the ecosystem differences between iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and even Linux that much more bearable.
KDE Connect laughs at ecosystem boundaries
One of my favorite apps of the type is none other than KDE Connect, an open-source solution that is available on pretty much any major platform and allows universal interoperability. You can connect any two devices that run Linux Desktop, Android, Windows, Plasma Mobile, SailfishOS, macOS, iOS, and more.
It lets you send files easily between two devices, share the clipboard, display your phone notifications on your desktop computer and even reply to these (if the notification allows that), execute custom one-touch commands from your phone straight on your desktop, control your mouse, control your multimedia, and more.
As a person using a MacBook Pro every day, usually with this week's flavor of an Android phone, there are two indispensable KDE Connect features that make it very useful to me: file and clipboard sharing.
There's no two ways around it, the KDE Connect interface isn't flashy and can't really be considered modern; it's fairly rudimentary and barebones. That's yet another plus for me: I've seen one too many beautiful apps ridden with ads that can barely execute their main function well. In this context, I'd rather have a basic app like KDE Connect that just works.
KDE Connect on my MacBook. Simple, but works
File sharing made easy
Power users would know how cumbersome and unnecessarily convoluted file sharing was between Android and the Apple ecosystem in the past, and while many solutions exist these days, somehow KDE Connect struck a chord with me and remained my go-to way of sharing files.
Just open the KDE Connect app, select send files, pick your file, and voila, it's already in your MacBook's Downloads folder. Or just send the file, picture, or video straight from your file manager or gallery app, as easy as pie, uncompressed and without going through any lossy optimizations.
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Clipboard sharing with no frills
The other priceless feature that KDE Connect brings to the table is the ability to send your phone's clipboard to your desktop, or the other way around. Sure, it requires two or three extra clicks in comparison with the Universal Clipboard for the Apple ecosystem, but for me, it's still mighty good.
The only requirement is that both devices are on the same network. Typically, that'd be your Wi-Fi network, but I have managed to keep my phone connected to the MacBook at all times thanks to Tailscale (you just need to add the custom Tailscale IP of your desktop, and it should automagically work). The faster your mobile data and Wi-Fi speeds, the better, of course.
Conclusion: Should you use it?
Let me first tell you what KDE Connect isn't.
It isn't a native tool. It requires a couple of minutes of tinkering in the beginning in order to get acquainted with the tool and provide it with all the necessary permissions it needs in order to function properly.
It's also not rock-solid, as much as it pains me to admit: depending on your ecosystem, you might get disconnected after a while or experience some unforeseen issue with your unique device combinations and usage.
That said, if you're comfortable with open-source software, which is usually a bit more crude but way more functional than many first-party tools, you should absolutely give KDE Connect a try.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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