Galaxy phones and tablets soon get AirDrop compatibility

A few months ago, Google made Quick Share compatible with AirDrop, but the feature was limited to Pixel 10 phones. The company has now announced that Quick Share’s AirDrop compatibility will soon expand to more Android devices, including non-Pixel phones. Galaxy phones and tablets could be among the first to receive this support.

During a Pixel Labs tour, Eric Kay, Vice President of Engineering for the Android platform, confirmed to Android Authority that Quick Share’s interoperability with AirDrop will expand to many more devices in 2026. The company spent significant time and effort ensuring Quick Share worked reliably with AirDrop on iPads, iPhones, and Macs. Now that the feature’s reliability has been proven, Google is preparing to extend it across the broader Android ecosystem.

Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets are often among the first to receive new features introduced by Google for Android. In a similar way, Quick Share’s AirDrop interoperability could arrive on Galaxy devices before reaching other Android brands.

The South Korean firm may introduce the feature with the One UI 8.5 update or the One UI 9 update later this year. We may also see an announcement during the launch of the Galaxy S26 series later this month. However, nothing can be confirmed until the company makes an official announcement.

Eric Kay said, “Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability. In 2026, we’re going to expand it to many more devices. We spent a lot of time and effort making sure we could build something compatible not only with iPhone but also with iPads and MacBooks. Now that we’ve proven it works, we’re partnering with others to expand it across the rest of the ecosystem, and you should see some exciting announcements very soon.”

He also said Google is making a lot of effort to make it easier for people to switch from iPhones and iPads to Android devices. It builds upon Apple's and Google's joint efforts to make device switching easier between their platforms. However, Apple isn't included in the development of making Quick Share compatible with AirDrop. Hopefully, Apple won't actively block those efforts.