If you're still emailing photos or using a USB thumb drive to transfer files across Apple devices, let me introduce you to AirDrop. AirDrop is a fast and easy way to share photos, files and links between your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Ever since switching from an Android phone to an iPhone two years ago, AirDrop has quickly become one of my favorite features within the Apple ecosystem.
The beauty of AirDrop is how it works seamlessly across many different types of content. You can share photos, documents, videos, audio recordings, contact cards, web links and notes (among other things) quickly and painlessly between Apple devices. I equated it to magic the first time I saw it in action.
AirDrop is limited to iOS and MacOS (Sorry, Android and PC users). When it debuted in 2012, it was one of the features that separated the iPhone from Android phones . If you are team Android, you can use a feature called Quick Share , which does something similar.
You don't even need the latest iPhone 16 or M3 MacBook Pro to use AirDrop. It works with any iOS device running iOS 7 or newer and any Mac running OS X Yosemite or newer. The only "requirement" is that both devices are within 30 feet of each other and have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
So far as I can tell, there isn't a limit to the size of the file you AirDrop. Just know that the bigger the file, the longer it will take to transfer. Check out the video below to see a step-by-step tutorial on setting up and using AirDrop.
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