Developers and enthusiasts are currently studying the preview version of iOS 27 in depth, so there are many features or improvements that Apple did not mention in the press conference that are being gradually discovered. The latest discovery is the sudden increase in the speed of AirDrop when transferring files. For example, the transfer time of a 3.5GB video file is shortened from 2 minutes and 11 seconds to 41 seconds, and the transfer rate increases by about 220% (limited to transfer between iOS 27 and iOS 27).
A video recorded by Twitter user The Apple Design (non-Apple official account) shows that when airdropping files from iOS 27 to iOS 26, the 3.5GB video file takes a total of 2 minutes and 11 seconds, which is equivalent to a transfer rate of 26.72MB/second or 213.74Mbps; when airdropping the same file from iOS 27 to iOS 27, the entire process only takes 41 seconds, which is equivalent to a transfer rate of 213.74Mbps. 85.37MB/sec or 682.93Mbps.
In terms of pure transfer rate, the transfer rate of AirDrop in iOS 27 is equivalent to 3.2 times that of iOS 26 (an increase of 220%). Since Apple did not mention these improvements in the press conference, we do not know what optimizations Apple uses to achieve the significant increase in the transfer rate of AirDrop. However, this will provide a better experience for users using Apple series devices, especially when transferring larger video files.
Technical principles of air delivery:
Different devices within the Apple ecosystem can often interact continuously with the help of wireless communication capabilities. AirDrop uses the Bluetooth protocol to discover devices, and then actually transfers files and other data through fast point-to-point Wi-Fi connections (mainly because the Bluetooth protocol is too slow and has poor stability when transferring large files).
In order to achieve continuous interoperability, Apple developed a proprietary protocol (private protocol) called Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL), which is used to establish the actual connection and data transmission between devices. AWDL is not a universal standard, and other companies cannot try to use their own technology to be compatible with AirDrop.
During this period, Google is also providing sharing technology for Android systems that is compatible with Apple's AirDrop. This technology helps Android and iOS devices transfer files to each other. These functions will gradually be pushed to supported Android devices. By then, users will be able to quickly share files between Android and iOS devices without the need for Internet-based transfer tools.