Play System Update: Quick Share enables data transfer via QR code to iPhones
Google is distributing a new Play System update that allows Android users to quickly share content with iPhones via QR code.
Android smartphone receives an update.
(Image: Andri wahyudi/Shutterstock.com)
More and more Android smartphones are getting the ability to send data to iPhones via Quick Share, similar to Apple's AirDrop. At the same time, Google is distributing another feature for devices that do not yet have or will not receive AirDrop support, as promised last week.
One-way sharing
Google keeps its word: The company promised a new feature in the Android Show I/O Edition that allows users to share content from any Android smartphone with iPhones via Quick Share. To achieve this, a QR code is generated in Quick Share, which iPhones only need to scan to access the shared photo, video, or document.
The manufacturer is actually distributing this function as an update via Google Play System Services: The feature is included in Google Play Services version 26.18 from May 11, 2026, as the company explains in a support document. On a Pixel 8, which currently does not have AirDrop support, the new feature is indeed available for use.
(Image:Â Andreas Floemer / heise medien)
When you open Quick Share, the app displays a QR code icon under the “Send to nearby devices” option. Tapping on it opens an overlay with a QR code and the note that the files are uploaded to Google servers with end-to-end encryption and deleted after 24 hours.
Unlike Google's AirDrop support, this solution apparently only supports one direction, i.e., from Android to iOS. With devices that already understand Apple's AirDrop, files can also be transferred from an Apple device to an Android device.
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Other new Play System Features
Apart from the QR function in Quick Share, the Play System update includes other features that are provided to all devices supporting Google's Play Services.
In the area of security and data protection, the new version provides protection against phone fraud: According to Google, calls will be automatically terminated if they impersonate phone numbers of supported banks. Furthermore, Google has improved functions of the enhanced security program, but Google does not reveal further details about this.
According to Google, the option to save and restore settings for “Autofill with Google” is also new.
(afl)
