Apple Namedrop Explained (And Why It’s Worth Using) – SlashGear

Apple is not keeping NameDrop exclusive to its phone either. Soon, users will also be able to exchange contacts between an iPhone and an Apple Watch by just holding them close to each other. This feature will be enabled with a software update later this year for Apple Watches.

Keep in mind that NameDrop requires at least an Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra, and the Apple Watch Series 6 (or a later version). Since NameDrop is an iOS 17 feature, it will be available in the coming months on iPhones dating as far back as the iPhone XR and the second-generation iPhone SE.

Apple is porting over the NameDrop formula for media sharing, as well. Using the same gesture, one can listen to music via SharePlay, watch online videos, and even play games together. It’s one of the most practically convenient features in the iOS 17 catalog, and doesn’t need any technical know-how either. But just to be clear here, NameDrop is not an Apple invention.

Android phones have had this feature for years, where two phones with NFC chips inside could be bumped to share contacts. A company named Bump also used to offer iOS and Android apps to allow file sharing by bumping two phones together, but in this case, file sharing happened over the internet. It was an extremely popular application, but the company was acquired by Google, and the app was killed in 2014.