The walls are still around those gardens, but there are more stiles in them than ever before. Google and Apple made headlines last year when they opened up compatibility between Apple’s iconic AirDrop and the Google Pixel’s Quick Share feature.
That compatibility was expanded last month, when Google announced that the same interoperability would spread to other Android phones eventually. Now, Samsung has confirmed that its latest Galaxy S26 range will be able to send files to Apple’s AirDrop soon.
A massive boost for cross-platform file sharing
Credit:Â Hannah Stryker / Lucas Gouveia / Android Police
The news comes directly from Samsung itself, and was delivered at a press conference in Japan (via 9to5 Google). Won-joon Choi, Samsung’s MX Business Chief Operating Officer, confirmed when questioned that Samsung intends to roll out support for AirDrop compatibility soon.
We plan to support AirDrop compatibility starting with the Galaxy S26 series … It will be provided sequentially through software updates.
It was also confirmed that while the Galaxy S26 range will be the first to get the feature, it will be spreading to other Galaxy phones in the future.
No release date was forthcoming, and the idea that it will arrive through a number of software updates could mean it won’t be coming particularly quickly. This also potentially means older phones may have to wait even longer for the support, so you might as well send that file by email for now. It’s worth noting that even Google has only added the feature to the Pixel 10 and the Pixel 9 range, so either it’s not in a rush to add it to more phones, or it does take some time to set up.
However, on the flipside, Oppo recently announced it would be adding the feature as soon as this month, so it’s possible it’s not that far away after all.
Credit:Â Lucas Gouveia/Android Police
It’s a little bit dramatic to call this the biggest crossover since Avengers Endgame, but there’s something wonderful about seeing the world’s two largest smartphone sellers coming together like this. AirDrop is an iconic Apple feature, and Android simply couldn’t match it until Quick Share was introduced, and now, we’re close to seeing them combined in a way that brings the two warring smartphone operating systems closer than ever.