Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Nothing is pushing to integrate AirDrop-compatible Quick Share to its phones.
- Google’s Pixel 10 is the first Android device to officially bridge Quick Share and AirDrop.
- Users must still manually enable AirDrop’s “Everyone for 10 minutes” setting on the iPhone side.
In a move that could put pressure on Android OEMs everywhere, Nothing is preparing to bring cross-platform file-sharing support — specifically compatibility with Quick Share’s newly revealed ability to interoperate with AirDrop — to its smartphones.
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The shift didn’t happen overnight. For years, Quick Share worked smoothly between Android phones and Chromebooks, but stopped cold when it came to iPhones or Macs. Meanwhile, AirDrop thrived inside Apple’s walled garden, making iOS-to-iOS sharing effortless while locking out everyone else.
That dynamic began to crack thanks to pressure from EU interoperability rules which pushed Apple to adopt new Wi-Fi standards. While it’s unclear if that shift directly enabled Google’s breakthrough, the timing is hard to ignore. Either way, someone was bound to crack the wall eventually, and Google is the first to have found a way to bridge Quick Share and AirDrop. The result is a Pixel 10-exclusive feature (at least for now) that lets Android users share photos and files to iPhones as long as the receiving device is discoverable under AirDrop’s “Everyone for 10 minutes” mode.
But this interoperability will most likely not end with Pixel hardware. If Nothing also jumps on the Quick Share-AirDrop bandwagon, the move will put pressure on Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and others to also adopt the same.
Of course, Apple hasn’t formally embraced open sharing, and the current system still requires users on both sides to adjust their AirDrop settings. That creates a bit of friction and leaves room for Apple to tweak the experience as it sees fit. Even so, things are changing. With the Pixel 10 paving the way and Nothing preparing to jump in, full cross-ecosystem file sharing suddenly feels like the next standard Android feature waiting in the wings.
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