One of the announcements that really surprised me from Google last year came in November, when it revealed that Android’s Quick Share now works with Apple’s AirDrop on the Pixel 10 series. In other words, if you have a Pixel 10, you can now easily share files and photos via QuickShare with iPhone users using AirDrop — and vice versa.
Given how tightly Apple protects its ecosystem, seeing an Android feature work effectively alongside an iOS one was unexpected, and it felt like a potential glimpse of a more interoperable future.
That said, support is still pretty limited. Only a handful of Android devices currently offer Quick Share compatibility with AirDrop, including the Pixel 10 and Pixel 9 series. While Google has said broader support is coming, we haven’t seen it materialize yet, though it seems Samsung will be the first to get it done.
When Samsung launched the Galaxy S26 series this month, there was some hope it would include AirDrop support out of the box — but that didn’t happen. Fortunately, though, Samsung has confirmed that it’s coming very soon.
- SoC
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Display
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6.9-inch Dynamic Super AMOLED 2X
- RAM
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12 or 16 GB
- Storage
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256GB, 512GB, or 1TB
Samsung is updating the S26 series to support AirDrop
More Galaxy devices will follow
Samsung has announced an upcoming update for the Galaxy S26 series that brings AirDrop support to Quick Share, with the rollout set to begin on March 23.
Once the update lands, you can enable the feature by heading to Settings > Connected Devices > Share with Apple devices, where you’ll find a toggle to turn AirDrop support on.
While the Galaxy S26 series will be the first Galaxy phones to support AirDrop, compatibility won’t stop there. Other Galaxy devices have been confirmed to receive support for it eventually as well, though Samsung hasn’t shared a clear timeline yet.
…hopefully, by the end of the year, there will be a much longer list of Android devices that actually AirDrop.
Though honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung waits for its next major software release — likely One UI 9 based on Android 17 — and uses that as the opportunity to bring AirDrop support to Quick Share on more of its devices. Though that’s entirely speculation on my part.
Other major Android phone makers, including Nothing and Oppo, are also working to add AirDrop support to Quick Share. Oppo recently said that its AirDrop via Quick Share support should roll out this month, but that remains to be seen.
All in all, while the rollout of Quick Share compatibility with AirDrop has been slow, it’s exciting nonetheless, and hopefully, by the end of the year, there will be a much longer list of Android devices that actually support AirDrop.
