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Android Beam
Former Android OS feature / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
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![]() A screenshot of Android Beam running on Android Oreo. | |
Developer(s) | |
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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 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]