AirDrop
| AirDrop | |
|---|---|
AirDrop on macOS | |
| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
| Initial release | July 20, 2011 |
| Operating system | iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS |
| Platform | Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Vision Pro |
| Type | Utility software |
| License | Bundled proprietary software |
| Website | AirDrop on iOS and iPadOS AirDrop on macOS |
AirDrop is a file-sharing service in Apple's iOS, macOS, iPadOS and visionOS operating systems that operates over a wireless ad hoc network. Airdrop was introduced in Mac OS X Lion (10.7) and iOS 7, and can transfer files among supported Mac computers and iOS devices by means of close-range wireless communication. This communication takes place over Apple Wireless Direct Link "Action Frames" and "Data Frames" using generated link-local IPv6 addresses instead of the Wi-Fi chip's fixed MAC address.
Prior to OS X Yosemite (10.10), and under OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks (10.7–10.9, respectively) the AirDrop protocol in macOS was different from the AirDrop protocol of iOS, and the two were therefore not interoperable. OS X Yosemite and later support the iOS AirDrop protocol, which is used for transfers between a Mac and an iOS device as well as between two 2012 or newer Mac computers, and which uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Legacy mode for the old AirDrop protocol (which only uses Wi-Fi) between a 2012 or older Mac computer (or a computer running OS X Lion through OS X Mavericks) and another Mac computer was also available until macOS Mojave.
Apple reveals no limit on the size of the file which AirDrop can transfer. However, some Apple users have indicated that oversized files are almost impossible to transfer, with a high probability of failure.