AirDrop support for Android: Google expands availability to more devices

Google's Quick Share and Apple's AirDrop have been working together since November 21, 2025, allowing seamless data transfer between iPhones, Macs, and Android devices without additional software. Google kicked things off with its Pixel 10 devices. This year, data exchange is to be opened up for more Android devices. Among others, Nothing has confirmed the integration of the feature.

AirDrop support for more Android devices

During an event, Eric Kay, Vice President of Engineering for the Android platform, confirmed to Android Authority that AirDrop interoperability is to be expanded far beyond Pixel smartphones this year.

He further explained: “We've invested a lot of time and energy to ensure we could develop something that's not only compatible with the iPhone but also with iPads and MacBooks.” After Google demonstrated that this works, the company is working with its partners to “extend the interoperability to the rest of the ecosystem.” Users can “look forward to some exciting announcements soon,” Kay said.

The Google manager did not name any partners for AirDrop support yet, but Nothing CEO Carl Pei announced back in November that they would integrate this feature on their smartphones. Furthermore, Qualcomm hinted on X at bringing AirDrop support to smartphones with Snapdragon chips.

Apparently, the interoperability between Quick Share and Apple's AirDrop was not a project intended solely for Google's own Pixel devices. This is because Google did not tie the AirDrop interoperability to a specific system component for Pixel devices. Instead, Google has expanded the Quick Share extension from a system app stub to a full APK with its Play Store entry. Through this development, Google has made AirDrop support a full Quick Share feature. However, it is still unclear whether the extension will be offered for all devices with Quick Share support.

Easier switching between iOS and Android is coming

In addition to the upcoming AirDrop interoperability for Android devices, Google is also working to simplify the switch to Android for iPhone users, according to Kay: “We will also work to make it easier for those who choose to transfer their data, and ensure they have everything they had from their old phone. So there is still much more to do.”

Back in December 2025, Google and Apple confirmed that they are working more closely on easier data transfer between Android and iOS. This should allow more file formats than before to be transferred from one operating system to another. Among other things, contacts, calendar events, messages, photos, documents, Wi-Fi networks, passwords, and data from third-party apps should be transferable. In contrast to previous solutions, the optimized path should also work wirelessly. The EU has already welcomed Apple and Google's plans to enable a more seamless data migration between iPhone and Android devices.

(afl)