Final November, Google introduced that it had managed to make Apple’s AirDrop compatible with Quick Share on its Pixel 10 phones, permitting them to simply share images and recordsdata with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The characteristic was intuitive, and to cite my colleague Jake Peterson, it is labored so seamlessly that it was virtually like Fast Share and AirDrop “had been constructed this fashion from the start.” However for different Android customers, it continued to be enterprise as standard, resulting in awkward texts and emails to share recordsdata throughout iOS and Android. Now, although, Google confirmed it is working to deliver AirDrop to different Android telephones, too, together with telephones it does not make. At an occasion attended by Android Authority, Android Vice President of Engineering Eric Kay stated, “Final 12 months, we launched AirDrop interoperability. In 2026, we will be increasing it to much more gadgets.”
To a level, we form of knew this was coming. Whereas many Pixel solely options are carried out through a particular Pixel-only system element, Google added AirDrop compatibility to the Pixel 10 by upgrading Fast Share from a system stage characteristic to a full-on app, with its personal APK. That laid the groundwork for different Android telephones to finally get AirDrop compatibility of their very own, since they’ll all use this app. For example, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said in November that his group was “already exploring” including AirDrop compatibility to Nothing telephones, whereas chipmaker Qualcomm said it “cannot wait” for the characteristic to be enabled on Snapdragon—generally utilized in Samsung’s Galaxy telephones—within the “close to future.”
Now, it looks as if the watch for AirDrop throughout the remainder of Android will not be for much longer. Whereas Kay did not give a precise timeline past 2026, he did say that Google is already “working with our companions to broaden it into the remainder of the ecosystem, and it is best to see some thrilling bulletins very quickly.” That is it so far as official communication goes, however I’ve reached out to Google for extra remark and can replace if I can snag extra particulars. Within the meantime, we do have a number of potential dates the place we may count on the characteristic to be introduced.
The soonest is perhaps the following Samsung Unpacked, the place the corporate is predicted to announce the S26 lineup of telephones. According to rumors, that’ll happen on Feb. 25, and it is common for Google to make an look throughout Unpacked to debate new options coming to Android that the brand new telephones can make the most of. Alternatively, Google would possibly save the announcement for its subsequent Google I/O occasion, which might seemingly be someday in Could. Or it may simply drop the characteristic on-line with out the fanfare of an official occasion.
What do you assume to this point?
Both approach, I am unable to wait. I take lots of images on my telephone for this job, and whereas sending them from my private iPhone to my work Mac normally is not a difficulty, getting them off an Android telephone I is perhaps reviewing is usually a a lot larger ache. As somebody who’s received an Android pill, an iPhone, a MacBook, and a Home windows PC all inside 5 toes of me proper now, something that helps bridge these ecosystems collectively is an efficient transfer in my e-book.
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