If you're the only Android in a family of iPhones, or you daily-drive a Windows PC next to an iPhone, you've probably cycled through the workarounds: emailing yourself, WhatsApp-ing a video and watching it get compressed to soup, USB cables, or uploading to a cloud drive just to download it again three feet away.
What an AirDrop replacement actually needs
- Every platform, one app — iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and a browser fallback for devices with nothing installed.
- Direct transfers — device to device, not a round-trip through someone's cloud.
- No size limits — a 12 GB video should be no scarier than a photo.
- Works offline — on a plane or in a dead zone, nearby sends should still work.
AirDrop vs. SkipStone
| AirDrop | SkipStone | |
|---|---|---|
| Apple → Apple | Great | Excellent |
| Android & Windows | No | Yes — full peers |
| Across the internet | No — same room only | Yes — encrypted direct connection |
| Offline / no internet | Yes | Yes — local Wi-Fi or Bluetooth |
| Size limits | None | None |
| Price | Free (built in) | Free to receive; $0.99/mo to send unlimited |
AirDrop is a great tool. But if you want something way faster — in our benchmark the same send finished in 24 seconds where AirDrop took ~5 minutes and failed on the first try — and that works with every device you own, that's exactly what SkipStone is.
How it works
- Install SkipStone on both devices (or open the web app on one).
- Add the other person with an invite link or QR code — or just tap their device if it's on your network.
- Pick files and send. SkipStone routes over local Wi-Fi at full network speed — in our benchmark, a 3.6 GB video went phone to laptop in 24 seconds.
More: Send large videos from iPhone to PC · SkipStone vs LocalSend vs Snapdrop