Apple Namedrop Explained (And Why It's Worth Using)

One of the most notable features to arrive with iOS 17 is a spin on AirDrop that is dedicated to sharing contacts, but without any of its usual hassles. Apple is cleverly calling it NameDrop.

All you need to do is bring two iPhones together, and the contact card will be exchanged. No more having to share a contact card over a messaging app or needing to read it aloud. Of course, it's not a tech Wild West where anyone can just bump against a stranger's iPhone and walk away with contact cards.

Once two iPhones come close to the tapping range, distinct share and receive buttons appear on the screen, and only after tapping on the correct button will contact sharing happen. Apple says users will be able to choose which phone numbers and email addresses on a contact card they wish to share with a nearby iPhone.

While using NameDrop, it's not just the contact card that is being shared between two phones, but also the Contact Poster, which is yet another iOS 17 feature. A Contact Poster is essentially a glorified contact card in which you can select a full-screen picture, customize the font, and play around with its other aesthetic aspects.

Apple is not keeping NameDrop exclusive to its phone either. Soon, users will also be able to exchange contacts between an iPhone and an Apple Watch by just holding them close to each other. This feature will be enabled with a software update later this year for Apple Watches.

Keep in mind that NameDrop requires at least an Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra, and the Apple Watch Series 6 (or a later version). Since NameDrop is an iOS 17 feature, it will be available in the coming months on iPhones dating as far back as the iPhone XR and the second-generation iPhone SE.

Apple is porting over the NameDrop formula for media sharing, as well. Using the same gesture, one can listen to music via SharePlay, watch online videos, and even play games together. It's one of the most practically convenient features in the iOS 17 catalog, and doesn't need any technical know-how either. But just to be clear here, NameDrop is not an Apple invention.

Android phones have had this feature for years, where two phones with NFC chips inside could be bumped to share contacts. A company named Bump also used to offer iOS and Android apps to allow file sharing by bumping two phones together, but in this case, file sharing happened over the internet. It was an extremely popular application, but the company was acquired by Google, and the app was killed in 2014.