People may not realize it but some old apps work because of Android Beam. It’s a connectivity feature that has been around since the beginning of Android. We don’t usually talk about it but now that it’s being deprecated, we like to focus on it one more time before it’s totally gone. It works with the NFC technology, ready even before those NFC-enabled contactless payment terminals was introduced. This is actually an Android 4.1+ API so you know it’s old but it does allow a number of great functions like tapping two phones to share files.
To be honest, nobody taps two smartphones together anymore to share phones, documents, web pages, and contacts. There may be a few who do but it’s really uncommon. Because of this, the tech giant is deprecating the API. Soon, support for such feature will totally be gone.
This simple “handshake” via NFC is one of Android Beam’s more popular uses. That was before when files are smaller but since files are bigger, they require WiFi Direct or Bluetooth now.
This deprecating move follows what we told you recently that Google Play Services is ending support for API level 14, 15. We have a feeling related announcements will be made as we enter a new year.
Android Beam support will still be out there but sans support. There may not be major uses for it now but we are grateful how it helped the mobile consumers with quick file transfer and sharing in the past.
VIA: XDA Developers
