LocalSend

As impressively seamless as Apple’s ecosystem is, many consumers find themselves enjoying one of its product categories while also relying on certain devices belonging to the competition to make use of various features. For instance, the reliability behind Apple’s unparalleled software and security update support for their iPhone lineup can be used in conjunction with Windows’ out-of-the box convenience regarding compatibility with most video game titles.

As a result, many of the advantages surrounding the Cupertino giant’s “walled gardens” fade away when making use of other manufacturer’s products, which is where projects such as LocalSend come into play.

The more popular the internet became as a service, the more improvements were made to network-related devices, thus leading to the high-speed connectivity many households benefit from nowadays. Given the prevalence of devices always connected to wireless networks, a myriad of services were spawned to ditch wired data transfers, with Apple’s AirDrop being the most popular among them.

Those seeking to emulate its advantages may be best served by the app at hand, which harnesses the existing local area network’s wireless router to make message, file and folder transfers possible in an encrypted fashion. Once installed, users are greeted to a sleek interface with design cues reminiscent of Google’s latest iteration of their Android operating system, featuring a dual-pane layout available on all major desktop and mobile platforms for families and work groups with different tastes in products.

Once the type of content is chosen, one can select the desired recipient from the “Nearby devices” section before initializing the transfer. While each device is assigned a certain random alias, users have the option of renaming them according to their model number to differentiate between them. When connected to the home network, the app can be set to automatically receive incoming transfers without confirmation for a faster download process.

Whether you happen to own devices featuring vastly different operating systems and data ports or you simply wish to avoid using external storage items or unencrypted messaging clients, LocalSend should be a solid choice, given its accessible layout and convenient compatibility with a plethora of products.