TAIPEI, Feb 6, 2026, 17:28 GMT+8
- Google says Quick Share-AirDrop sharing will expand beyond the Pixel 10 lineup in 2026
- Android engineering chief says partners are lined up; details are still thin
- Expansion targets one of Apple’s stickiest ecosystem features: easy file sharing
Google will broaden Android’s Quick Share feature that can send files to Apple devices using AirDrop, expanding beyond the Pixel 10 range this year, a senior executive said during a briefing in Taipei. Erik Kay, Google’s vice president of engineering for the Android platform, said the company was “expanding it to a lot more devices” and hinted at “exciting announcements coming very soon.” (Android Authority)
The move matters because file sharing between iPhones and Android phones still breaks down in day-to-day use. People fall back on messaging apps, email, or cloud links, which is slower and often strips quality from photos and video.
AirDrop is also a quiet lock-in tool for Apple. Kay said Google is also working to smooth switching from iPhone to Android, including making it easier for people “to transfer their data” when they change phones. (AppleInsider)
Google has not named which Android brands or models will get the AirDrop-compatible Quick Share feature first. Kay said Google has “proven” the approach works on iPhones, iPads and MacBooks and is now moving it into the wider Android ecosystem.
Quick Share is Android’s built-in “nearby” sharing tool. Google’s support pages currently describe AirDrop sharing as a Pixel 10-only capability and tell Apple users to set AirDrop visibility to “Everyone for 10 minutes” to receive files. (Pomoc Google)
Google first rolled out Quick Share support for AirDrop to the Pixel 10 family in late 2025 and said it expected to improve the experience and expand it to more Android devices. (Blog)
On security, Google said it built the cross-platform feature with safeguards tested by independent experts and used the Rust programming language, which is designed to reduce certain memory-related bugs. Stanford cryptography professor Dan Boneh called it “a strong example of how to build secure interoperability,” in a Google security post about the feature. (Google Online Security Blog)
For now, the user experience is still a bit awkward. Quick Share works with AirDrop’s temporary “Everyone for 10 minutes” setting, and Apple users must actively flip that switch before a transfer can start.
That friction is also the risk. Apple could change AirDrop behavior or tighten discovery rules in a future software update, and Google’s expansion depends on partners actually shipping it across a fragmented Android market, not just talking about it. (Thurrott)
The competitive stakes are clear. Apple’s AirDrop is baked into iPhones, iPads and Macs, while Android’s reach depends on Google plus big hardware makers like Samsung and others moving in step.
Google has not given a rollout calendar or said whether older Android phones will be included. Kay’s comments pointed to more information “very soon,” but the company has yet to lay out what “more devices” means in practice.
