A screenshot of Android Beam running on Android Oreo.
Developer(s)
Google
Initial release
2011; 13 years ago (2011)
Operating system
Android OS
Successor
Nearby Share
Service name
File sharing
Type
Utility software
License
Apache License 2.0
Android Beam is a discontinued feature of the Android mobile operating system that allowed data to be transferred via near field communication (NFC).[1] It allowed the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos, and other data. Android Beam was introduced in 2011 with Android Ice Cream Sandwich.[2] This was improved after Google acquired Bump.
By 2017, ComputerWorld included Android Beam in a list of "once-trumpeted features that quietly faded away", observing that "despite the admirable marketing effort, Beam never quite worked particularly well, and numerous other systems for sharing stuff proved to be simpler and more reliable."[2]
Android Beam was deprecated starting with Android 10 in January 2019.[3][4][5] Google replaced Android Beam with the introduction of Nearby Share, which is an AirDrop competitor by Google.[6]
^"Google announces NFC-based Android Beam for sharing between phones (video)" Engadget. Oct 18, 2011. https://www.engadget.com/2011/10/18/google-announces-nfc-based-android-beam-for-sharing-between-phon/ Accessed Jan 13, 2013.
^ abRaphael, JR (2017-12-05). "Android nostalgia: 13 once-trumpeted features that quietly faded away". Computerworld. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
^Swider, Matt (2019-05-08). "Android Q won't have Android Beam". TechRadar (News article). New York, NY: Future US. Archived from the original on 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2020-05-06. Android Beam...is nowhere to be found in the ongoing Android Q beta...we found out that it's not coming back, either, according to the reps we talked to who are working on Android updates.
^Rahman, Mishaal (2019-01-05). "[Update 2: Not Coming Back] Google is deprecating the Android Beam API used to share files with NFC". XDA Developers (News brief). Havertown, PA: KC Online Media. Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2020-05-06. The commits deprecating the Android Beam APIs have been merged.
^"Android Beam deprecation". developer.android.com. developer.android.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-30. Retrieved 2020-08-25. In Android 10 we're officially deprecating Android Beam, an older feature for initiating data sharing across devices through Near Field Communication (NFC).
^"Instantly share files with people around you with Nearby Share". Google. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
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