Breaking! Android Quick Share Now Works with Apple’s AirDrop

Google just rolled out an update lets Android’s Quick Share work directly with Apple’s AirDrop. In other words, you can now send photos, videos, and files back and forth between Android phones and iPhones (as well as Macs and iPads) without any extra steps. At the time of writing, it’s exclusive to the Pixel 10 series, but we expect the support to roll out gradually to more Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy models.

Quick Share to AirDrop file transfers now work on the Pixel 10, and Samsung will likely follow suit

If an iPhone user switches AirDrop visibility to “Everyone for 10 Minutes,” their device should appear in Android’s Quick Share panel just like any other nearby target. The same applies in the opposite direction. Pixel owners can receive files from Apple devices when their own Quick Share visibility is set to “Everyone for 10 Minutes” or when they enable Receive mode. Once accepted, files appear in the Files app on Android.

So how does it work? Google says it built the entire system on its own. The company confirmed that Apple was not involved in the development. This raises an obvious question about whether Apple might try to block this behavior in a future software update. So far, Apple has not commented.

The connection is direct and peer-to-peer, so data stays between the two devices rather than being routed through a server. The company also outlines several layers of security. The sharing channel is built using Rust. That’s designed to avoid memory-related vulnerabilities. Both operating systems add their own platform protections on top. On top of that, every transfer requires user approval before a file is received.

Internally, Google says it conducted privacy reviews, threat modeling, and penetration tests. It also hired an independent security firm, which found the implementation secure and stronger than similar solutions from other companies. For now, the feature only works through AirDrop’s temporary “Everyone for 10 Minutes” mode.

Google says it hopes to work with Apple in the future to add support for the more private “Contacts Only” mode, which would make the experience more seamless. Now we are just waiting for this functionality to arrive on Samsung Galaxy phones as well, and I hope One UI 8.5 makes that possible. Maybe then the dust will finally be settled once and for all.