Original topic:

Android Beam what is it?????

(Topic created on: 04-04-2020 06:59 PM)
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hedgehog
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Android Beam is a feature of the Android mobile operating system that allows data to be transferred via near field communication (NFC). It allows the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos, and other data. Android Beam was introduced in 2011 with Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). 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."

Android Beam has been discontinued in Android 10.

Description

Usage

Android Beam is activated by placing devices back to back with the content to be shared displayed on the screen. If the content is able to be sent, the screen will shrink down and display "Tap to Beam" at the top. Tapping the screen sends the content from the one device to the other. A sound will play when devices are near and able to beam. When the data has been sent, a confirmation tone will play or a negative tone will play if failed and the content will shrink off the screen indicating beaming is complete. Sharing is one direction and the device sending content will not get content from the receiving device.

Requirements

To activate Android Beam, both devices must support NFC (Near field communication) and have it enabled in addition to passing the lock-screen or logging in.

4.1 Jelly Bean update

As of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, devices can use Android Beam to send photos and videos over Bluetooth. Android Beam uses NFC to enable Bluetooth on both devices, instantly pair them, and disable Bluetooth once complete automatically on both devices. This only works between Android devices version 4.1 and above.

Application support

For beaming of specific content, an app is allowed to control the content being sent when adding Android Beam support. If the app does not specify data, beaming the app will open it on the receiving device. If the receiving device does not have the app, it will open the application page in the Play Store.

S Beam

S Beam refers to an extension of Android Beam by Samsung, first used on their Galaxy S III phones. It uses the near-field communication to establish a Wi-Fi Direct connection between two devices for the data transfer, instead of a Bluetooth connection. This results in faster transfer speeds between devices which feature S Beam. S Beam is limited to devices with S Beam support, Wi-Fi Direct, and NFC such as HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S III.

Android Beam

If you have a file like a photo, video or document on your Android phone that you want to share with someone else that happens to be physically next to you, there’s a simple way to accomplish this task. It’s called Android Beam, and the feature works pretty much how its title suggests.

With this simple tech, you can ‘beam’ files to your friends and family, though both phones involved in the transfer must have NFC (Near-Field Communication) hardware for it to work.

Check for Android Beam and NFC hardware on your phone

Android Beam itself has been part of the Android OS since version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) launched, so it’s more than likely that your smartphone or tablet has that version, or higher, of the OS installed. However, your device may not have NFC hardware, or if it does, it may be turned off by your specific wireless carrier. You need to make sure your device has working NFC support, along with your friend’s phone, for Android Beam transfers to work.

Android Beam


Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to check for these features. Just go into your phone or tablet’s Settings and then tap “More” in the Wireless & Networks selection. If NFC is enabled you should see a slider that can turn it on or off on your phone. If you want to make sure Android Beam is working, you can also go to its specific feature in the Settings menu as well and turn it on or off.

You should then be ready to transfer some files with your friend’s phone (again, if he or she also has Android Beam and NFC support).

Time to transfer files with Android Beam

Assuming both Android Beam and NFC are now set up on both phones, the transfer process for files can begin. All you and your friend have to do is to place those devices back to back against each other. Then you check out if the content you want to transfer to the other phone is on your screen. If it can be moved to the other phone, you should see a “Touch to Beam” caption on top.

Android Beam

Then all you have to do is just touch the screen and that content, such as a photo, video or word document, will quickly transfer from your phone to the other device, using NFC and a Bluetooth connection. You should get a confirmation sound if the transfer was completed successfully, and there will be a more negative sound if the transfer has failed for some reason.

Keep in mind that the transfer between the two devices is just one way; if your friend wants to move a piece of content to your phone, he or she must make their own Android Beam connection to your device and repeat the same steps you just did.

What is S Beam?

There is another similar technology that was enabled for a few older Samsung smartphones, such as the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 2, a few years ago. It’s called S Beam, and unlike Android Beam, it used the NFC hardware in those phones to establish a transfer of files via a Wi-Fi Direct connection, instead of Bluetooth. This technology was supposed to be faster than Android Beam for moving files. Otherwise, it transfered content in exactly the same way as Google’s method. Since only a few older Samsung smartphones and tablets used S Beam, it’s highly unlikely your phone supports this technology.

Conclusion

While there are plenty of other methods for phone owners to transfer pictures, videos and other content to anyone else they want (messaging, cloud servers, etc), there is still something kind of cool, even futuristic, about just touching two phones together, back to back, to make that transfer happen. That’s just what Android Beam does.


6 Comments
Anonymous
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Tech Talk

that has been removed with android 10 policy s beam is no longer here 

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hedgehog
Expert Level 5
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nope I still have it👍👍👍👍
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Anonymous
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on my note 10 plus this feature have been removed 

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hedgehog
Expert Level 5
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send screenshots please
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hedgehog
Expert Level 5
Tech Talk
maybe I could help🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔👍👍👍
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Anonymous
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