Quick Share's compatibility with Apple AirDrop will be expanding to more Android devices in the near future.
The confirmation came direct from Google, but there's no timeframe on the change.
Google has confirmed that AirDrop interoperability – where Android's Quick Share plays nice with Apple's AirDrop – is coming to more Android devices in 2026. The feature launched on Pixel 10 in 2025 allowing the sharing of files directly between devices.
For many years, AirDrop was the envy of Android phone owners. While iPhone, iPad and Mac users were easily sharing photos and files, Android users were sharing links to albums or Drive folders, rather than just beaming stuff back and forth.
Quick Share resolved this problem for Android users and in 2025, Pixel owners suddenly found themselves able to share with AirDrop too.
Now it looks like this state of harmonious bliss is going to expand, with the feature confirmed to be coming to more Android devices in 2026.
“Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability. In 2026, we’re going to be expanding it to a lot more devices,” said Eric Kay, VP of engineering for Android platform, during a press briefing at Google's Taipei office and noted by Android Authority.
“We spent a lot of time and energy to make sure that we could build something that was compatible not only with iPhone, but iPads and MacBooks. Now that we’ve proven it out, we’re working with our partners to expand it into the rest of the ecosystem, and you should see some exciting announcements coming very soon."
The downside to the system at the moment is that Apple users need to change to their settings to "everyone" rather than the "contacts only" option. Google has also said that it's interested in including integration that allows "contacts only" sharing, which will make things more effortless.
The state of file sharing across non-Apple devices has been very fractured in the past, but this could pull things together with a system that works for everyone.
There's hope in the "very soon" timeline that we could see something in the coming weeks and with Mobile World Congress at the end of the month – where Google normally has a big presence – there's an ideal platform for this sort of announcement.
The result will be that it's a lot easier to share between Android and iOS devices and that's an exciting thing. What's next in the new era of Apple and Android handholding? Greater integration into iMessage and the end of those blue bubbles?
