OnePlus

OnePlus has a new ‘Share with iPhone’ tool that no one is going to use [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Oct 24 2024 - 8:15 am PT

OnePlus (and Oppo) have launched a new solution for sharing files with iPhone users wirelessly, all baked into the latest Android 15 update. But… uh… it’s probably not going to be all that popular.

Within OxygenOS 15, OnePlus has launched a new “Share with iPhone” button in the share menu. The button shows prominently and, as OnePlus explains, is meant to “simplify” file sharing between OnePlus and iPhone devices.

OnePlus says:

The “Share with iPhone” feature simplifies file sharing between OnePlus and iPhone devices. For OnePlus users, files sharing can be activated through a built-in settings option, eliminating the need for additional downloads. While iPhone users need to download the “O+Connect” app to share. This crossplatform capability fosters a more accessible sharing experience, highlighting OxygenOS 15’s commitment to enhancing user convenience and satisfaction.

Can you spot the problem?

This isn’t a solution that’s pretty easy for the OnePlus user, but far from effortless for the iPhone user. Rather, it requires them to download an app – which OnePlus hilariously mentions immediately after saying that this solution “[eliminates] the need for additional downloads.”

The process of this is just a wild ask for something as simple as sharing a photo. On the OnePlus side, the user selects the photo, video, or file they want to share, opens the share menu, and taps “Share with iPhone.”

The iPhone user, meanwhile, has to first download the “O+ Connect” app from the App Store if they don’t already have it, give the app a bunch of permissions, and then leave it open until the iPhone shows up for the OnePlus user. The OnePlus device then selects the iPhone it sees and asks to share a file. At this point, the iPhone user then has to join a Wi-Fi hotspot that starts on the OnePlus device, asking permission each time, and then transfer the file. While this is going on, the OnePlus device briefly disconnects from Wi-Fi as well.

The process isn’t even all that fast. In our testing, sharing a single photo takes at least 30 seconds from start to finish, and that’s assuming both users are fully set up and there are no hiccups at all.

In the real world, this just won’t fly in the vast majority of cases. The time required to download the app, set it up, and go through all of the permissions alone would push most users to just find another solution, like Google Drive, email, or RCS messaging. Perhaps it’s a lot more useful for big files, like long 4K videos or other large files, but it’s still not exactly an elegant solution. It’s rather obvious, especially seeing as the “O+ Connect” app is also going to be used by Realme as well, that this solution was mainly built for other regions, but I just can’t remotely imagine this being popular in most of the world. A web app would have worked far better, I feel.

I’m glad OnePlus and Oppo took the time to build out a tool for this because, yes, it is a problem. But getting iPhone users to download an app isn’t the solution.

If it was even remotely that simple, the “green bubble” drama would never have been a thing.

Would you use this new tool?