AirDrop

Transferring files from a Samsung to an iPhone is a pain. So the Galaxy are going to be compatible with AirDrop

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Talking about Samsung and Apple is talking about the dog and the cat: two leading companies in completely different software ecosystems, both due to the nature of Android and how Samsung differentiates OneUI from Google’s native system. One of the historical points of friction between both platforms has always been AirDropthe file transfer system that Android tried to emulate with QuickShare. Surprisingly, Samsung has just announced that its phones will begin to be compatible with this protocol. AirDrop is compatible with Samsung. Starting with the Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+ and S6 UltraAirDrop will begin to support Quick Share. In other words, we can send files between Samsung and iPhone with their corresponding wireless protocols. The novelty is beginning to be implemented in South Korea, and will begin to soon expand to Europe and Latin America. Although the Galaxy S26 are the first lucky ones, Samsung has confirmed that it will later reach more models. How is it possible. Google made Quick Share and AirDrop interoperable on your Pixeland now partners like Samsung benefit from it. The company kept secret how it was possible to make its protocol work with Apple’s (completely closed a priori), and the answer lay with the European Union. As explains my colleague Javier Pastorwith the new EU guidelines Apple had to adopt interoperable wireless standards starting with iOS 26. This was a blow for AWDL (Apple Wireless Direct Link, Apple’s proprietary protocol), to embrace the WiFi Alliance’s WiFi Aware standard as its replacement. The beginning of something bigger? Samsung is one of the main partners from Google and one of the companies that is helping the most with the development of Android. For this reason, it is common to see how they are the first to implement exclusive Pixel innovations, more years of updates or, in this case, AirDrop. The big question is how long it will take the rest of the manufacturers to ensure that their phones can send and receive files to devices with iOS 26 through Quick Share and AirDrop. Yes, but. At the moment, this functionality is only possible if we activate the “everyone for 10 minutes” mode of AirDrop, being closed to the “contacts only” mode with which we can transfer files without having to constantly go to the phone settings. Google has been open to collaborating with Apple to enable full connectionalthough there is no news about it from the second company. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Best Samsung phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and five recommended models

We already know who to thank for Google making AirDrop also work with Android phones: the European Union

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A few days ago Google gave a surprise and announced that it had managed to make its system Quick Share was compatible with AirDrop. Suddenly it was possible to wirelessly transfer data and content from a Pixel 10 to an iPhone or iPad and vice versa. What Google did not do is tell how it did it, but in reality the credit was not its own, but rather the European Union’s. what has happened. Google has updated the feature Quick Share of Android to support AiDrop. That makes it possible to share files directly over an end-to-end Wi-Fi connection. Any Apple device with AirDrop enabled will appear in the list of nearby devices when you try to share content with Quick Share, and the same will happen in reverse in the AirDrop menu. It is the Android-iOS interoperability (and we will see if also with macOS) that we have all dreamed of for a long time, and that is now finally a reality. First the Pixel 10, then the others. At the moment only the Google Pixel 10 They support this option, but it is more than likely that it will reach the entire range of Android devices. Google confirmed in The Verge that Apple had not been involved in this development in any way, but in reality it was. The thing is that his role was not voluntary. How AirDrop works. This feature makes use of Bluetooth to allow devices to detect each other, and then an end-to-end Wi-Fi connection takes care of the data transmission. The crucial detail is that Apple developed a proprietary protocol called Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) to facilitate that connection between devices. And since it was proprietary, no one else could use it and AirDrop was a fantastic option that was only available for devices in this ecosystem. Very Apple everything. This is where the EU comes in.. At the beginning of the year the European Union decided that Apple had to adopt interoperable wireless standards and was to do so starting with iOS 26. No one paid much attention to the impact the announcement would have on AirDrop, but cloud services company Ditto took care of glimpse the future and explained how “the EU has killed AWDL.” Which is effectively what happened: Apple was forced to abandon its proprietary protocol in favor of interoperable alternatives. Hello Wi-Fi Aware. The new regulations forced Apple to add support for the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Aware standard and replace AWDL. The curious thing is that Wi-Fi Aware was developed with the support of Apple, but here the operable implementation was the one that was forced to be used on devices from the Cupertino firm. This reminds us of USB-C. This reminds us of what happened previously with the Lightning port, which was essentially a proprietary version of the USB-C standard. When the EU forced to use this connector on mobile phones and other devices Apple had to ditch the Lightning port. That has made charging adapters interoperable, and the same is now true for AirDrop. A promising future. Wi-Fi Aware has been added to both iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 (but it does not seem to be integrated into macOS 26), and therefore mobile phones from the iPhone 12 will be compatible with this option. For its part, Android has been supporting this standard since Android 8.0, which makes the vast majority of devices candidates to take advantage of this interoperability with Apple devices. What’s not clear is whether it will be possible to use QuickShare with AirDrop directly on Macs, but there are alternatives in that case: myself I have NearDrop installed on my Mac mini M4 and I can share files from my Pixel 8 Pro without problems with Apple equipment. In Xataka | Notifications with ads from some of the apps we use the most are hijacking our phones. And there’s not much to do

Google has managed to integrate Apple’s AirDrop into Android. Without the help or permission of Apple

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Google has announced that Quick Shareyour file transfer system on Android, now also works with Apple’s AirDrop. The users of a Pixel 10 They can send and receive files directly from iPhone, iPad and Mac without intermediaries or servers. Support is two-way and works when the Apple device activates “Everyone for 10 minutes” mode in AirDrop. The Pixel detects the iPhone as an available destination, the user accepts the transfer and the connection is established directly. Ta-da. The turn. Apple has not participated in the development. Google has confirmed that it has implemented this feature on its ownwithout your collaboration. “We have achieved it with our own implementation,” they said from Google. This contrasts with other recent interoperability advances between both platforms—messaging RCS or the unknown tracker alerts— where there was coordination. Between the lines. Google appears to have reverse engineered AWDL technology (Apple Wireless Direct Link) that underpins AirDrop. Although it is proprietary, it relies on open standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct, which makes it technically possible to implement unauthorized support. The company has developed the feature using Rust, a programming language considered more secure against vulnerabilities. It also hired NetSPI, an independent security firm, to validate the implementation. His assessment: the system is “notably more robust” than other solutions in the sector. The threat. Apple may end up blocking this functionality and in fact it is a very likely scenario given the history. In 2023 closed Beeper accessan app that allowed iMessage to be used on Android through reverse engineering. But the context has changed. Google is much bigger than Beeper. In addition, Apple now has greater regulatory pressure than then around anti-competitive practices, both in Europe and the United States. Yes, but. The current implementation only works in “Everyone for 10 minutes” mode. AirDropless convenient than the “Contacts Only” mode. Google has expressed its willingness to collaborate with Apple to enable that mode. The feature starts exclusively on the Pixel 10, although Google has promised to expand it to more Android devices. At stake. This move attacks one of the elements of Apple’s walled garden that most frustrates cross-platform users. If Google manages to maintain this operational compatibility, it erodes another barrier to change. If Apple takes it down, it reinforces the narrative of monopolistic practices just as regulators take a closer look. In the coming weeks we will surely hear about this case again. In Xataka | Privacy was Apple’s ace in the hole in the age of AI. Google just took it away Featured image | Google

How to send files from your Android to an iPhone using Quick Share with AirDrop

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Let’s explain to you how to send files and other elements from your Android mobile to an iPhone wearing Quick Sharethat now has started to be compatible with AirDroid. At the moment this is a function that Initially it is exclusive to Google Pixel 10 phonesalthough Google is already working on bringing it to other Android devices as well. Quick Share is Android’s feature for sharing files between Android or Windows devices, and AirDrop is Apple’s alternative for sharing items between your devices. Until now these were two separate standards, but Google has started to merge them. It’s two-way compatibility, so you can send things from Android to iOS, but also from iOS to Android. As we have told you, this innovation has first reached the Pixel 10, the flagship of Google phones, but the idea is to also bring it to other Android phones. Send files from Android to iPhone To send files to an iPhone using Quick Share, you will currently need to have a Pixel 10, and that it is updated to its latest version. Google has released the function with an update for Google Play System. This update will arrive progressively to all users, so if you don’t have it yet, you should have it soon. Once you have the function activated, what you have to do is enter the Android quick settings and choose the Quick Share function, then choosing the file you want to share. You will also have the Quick Share option in the share menu of your Android. Once you are on the screen to share elements with Quick Share, a list of nearby devices to send the file to will appear below, and in it Now nearby iPhones will appear. Then, choose the iPhone and its owner will receive your file as if it were from another iPhone through AirDroid. One thing you should keep in mind is that, to receive files from Quick Share, iPhones must have a setting activated. Specifically, you will have to go to the settings and configure AirDrop to receive files from “Everyone for 10 minutes.” Therefore, you can’t just send the file, the iPhone owner must know that you are going to send it to them and change this. In Xataka Basics | Share files between devices: mega-guide with all the methods to do it between mobile phones and computers Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and Linux

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