During WWDC 2023, Apple introduced NameDrop, which was one of the new features that came with iOS 17. With NameDrop, bringing two iPhones close together would allow for the exchange of each user's personalized Contact Posters and phone numbers. The same swap of Contact Posters comes when an iPhone and an Apple Watch get together for the same interaction.
NameDrop is a big timesaver for iPhone users
This is a big timesaver when you are meeting a fellow iPhone user for the first time and want to exchange contact information. If you start the exchange while in AirDrop range and walk out of range, the rest of the information is swapped securely over the internet. A user can decide whether he wants to swap Contact Posters with another iPhone user or just receive the other person's information without giving out his own.
With NameDrop, Near Field Communications (NFC), the same technology that allows you to tap on a point-of-sale terminal and use Apple Pay. is used to make the initial handshake between the two iPhone units and signals both phones that the users want to share information. Once that is done, AirDrop takes over the next step and using the combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for discovery and transfer respectively, the Contact Posters are swapped. So, we can say that when it comes to NameDrop, NFC starts the process, and AirDrop finishes it off.
What the Android version of the iOS NameDrop feature could look like. | Image credit-Android Authority
Google is reportedly working on a similar feature for Android users that is known inside the Alphabet subsidiary as "Gesture Exchange" and "Contact Exchange." Android Authority was able to enable some of the Contact Exchange Activity found in Google Play Services v25.46.31. Screenshots show that users can choose the information they want to share among three possibilities:
Photograph
Mobile phone number
Email address
The user can decide to send any combination of these three data points to the other Android wielding party. Tapping the "Receive only" button will allow the user to get the other party's information without sharing his own. The other party's information comes in the form of a page that says, "Contact received." Hit the Save button and this new information becomes a new contact on your phone. There are a couple of icons on this card that allow the user to start a video chat or send a text to the Android user whose info he received.
Do you hope Google adds this to Android?
Yes, I do!
80%
No, I don't.
20%
Google could also use NFC to initiate a connection between the two Android phones. Once the connection is made, Bluetooth or NFC could be used to complete the process. We don't know when Google will disseminate this feature, if it ever does. It would be a great addition to Android and personally I am hoping that Google does disseminate this feature to Android users.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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