Android Beam

<p>Android Beam is a discontinued feature of the <a href="/facts/Android_(operating_system)/nNyHb0xz">Android</a> mobile operating system that allowed data to be transferred via <a href="/facts/Near_field_communication/awqd3Ea8">near field communication</a> (NFC). 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 <a href="/facts/Android_Ice_Cream_Sandwich/FWzoxLoh">Android Ice Cream Sandwich</a>. This was improved after Google acquired <a href="/facts/Bump_(application)/Knu8faFm">Bump</a>.
By 2017, <a href="/facts/Computerworld/fEvubHhX">ComputerWorld</a> 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."
</p><p>Android Beam was <a href="/facts/Deprecated/1aQL7rnP">deprecated</a> starting with <a href="/facts/Android_10/55ooSorM">Android 10</a> in January 2019, and was removed completely in <a href="/facts/Android_14/bEoMeoDy">Android 14</a>. <a href="/facts/Google/GT9Sugza">Google</a> replaced Android Beam with the introduction of <a href="/facts/Nearby_Share/1r66spIX">Nearby Share</a>, which is an <a href="/facts/AirDrop/yo6Cwtjd">AirDrop</a> competitor by Google.
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Android Beam open-in-new

Android Beam