Viral YouTube video of plane-to-plane AirDrop bogus, deleted by author

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  • Reply 21 of 23
    Mike Wuerthelemike wuerthele Posts: 7,049administrator
    laytech said:
    Clearly a fake, I struggle for airdrop to work every time between my iPhone 8 and my iMac Mini 2016 model. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. When it does, its terrific.
    Between your iPhone WHAT? (7, I presume)
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  • Reply 22 of 23
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,554moderator
    laytech said:
    Clearly a fake, I struggle for airdrop to work every time between my iPhone 8 and my iMac Mini 2016 model. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. When it does, its terrific.
    Apple says the AirDrop range is 30ft ( https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106 ) and someone tested the wifi range of low power products here with that result:

    https://www.apple.com/shop/question/answers/readonly/what-is-the-range-in-feet-of-the-onboard-cameras-wifi-to-an-ipad-or-iphone-that-have-the-gopro-app-installed-to-watch-a-live-video/QCDDFY4TTH9TJU4PJ

    Bluetooth 4 supports a range of up to ~300ft and the wifi spec should manage that far too. The Beats wireless products can connect that far apart. 1000ft apart while the two devices are both occluded by metal planes isn't likely but maybe it will be with Bluetooth 5 in a future iPhone. It looks like it was just a joke/pun on the term AirDrop by setting it up while flying.

    Cellular antennas can communicate as far as 20 miles (~100,000ft) so low power signals can reach very far but they need good receivers to pick them up. Future wifi standards are being designed for 1-100km ranges:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11af
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.22

    Devices like iPhones won't do this directly but planes should be able to connect to each other and the iPhones can hop on the connection. New wifi standards might also allow for wifi towers to be based in the ocean and solar powered. They could have a few hundred long range ones in the ocean that act as repeaters to the nearest land network and that would work for ships too.
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  • Reply 23 of 23
    laytech said:
    Clearly a fake, I struggle for airdrop to work every time between my iPhone 8 and my iMac Mini 2016 model. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. When it does, its terrific.
    Between your iPhone WHAT? (7, I presume)
    Forget the iPhone 8, where do I get one of those 2016 iMac Minis? Maybe one of those would fit in my bookcase where the current ones don't.
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