Android and iPhone Can Finally Use AirDrop for Direct File Sharing
But it's only limited to the PIxel 10 for now.
For years, the Android-versus-iOS rivalry was practically a cultural event. iPhone loyalists had their pristine “walled garden”, Android users prided themselves on openness, and everyone else just tolerated the green-and-blue bubble wars. But bit by bit, that divide keeps shrinking. Apple has ditched Lightning for USB-C, both sides now share a standard for Bluetooth tracker alerts, and RCS is finally crawling its way into iMessage. And today, that invisible line between platforms just got even thinner, because Android can now work with AirDrop.
For the first time ever, Android phones (well, some of them) can send and receive files directly from Apple devices using AirDrop, thanks to Google updating Quick Share to play nicely with Apple’s ecosystem. No hacks, no cloud links, no rerouting data, just simple, device-to-device sharing.
Louis Eriakha
The setup is surprisingly straightforward. To make the magic work, the iPhone user needs to switch their AirDrop setting to “Everyone for 10 minutes”. Once that’s enabled, a Pixel 10 user can pull up Quick Share, see the nearby Apple device, and beam over photos, videos, documents, and whatever else, just like any normal share action. It’s a direct, peer-to-peer connection too, so nothing is routed through servers or logged along the way. Apple users can send files back as well, as long as the Pixel’s own Quick Share visibility is set to allow it.
Of course, there’s a catch: this only works on the Pixel 10 lineup for now. Google hasn’t given a timeline for when it’ll roll out to other Android devices, but based on how these things usually go, it’s definitely coming. Slowly, quietly, and one manufacturer update at a time. For now, though, Pixel 10 owners get to enjoy the bragging rights.
But, if you've been following the industry for any amount of time at all, you'll probably be raising an eyebrow right about now, asking, 'Did Apple just randomly, willingly decide to share AirDrop with the world?' And honestly, no one knows.
Apple hasn’t said a single word about this update, and Google insists it did all the heavy lifting on its own. So either Google somehow cracked the famously locked-down AirDrop system, or Apple quietly decided this one bit of openness wouldn’t hurt. Personally, my money’s still on the first option.
But one thing's sure, the trend is impossible to ignore. With every new update, smartphones are starting to look and feel more alike. Pretty soon, choosing a device won’t be about what one can do that the other can’t; it might just come down to which tech giant you’re willing to pledge allegiance to this time.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
