In a surprising move, Google announced a major update to Quick Share, an AirDrop-like feature for Android and Windows PC. Now, iPhone users can AirDrop photos and files to Android smartphones and vice versa.
The experience is quite seamless. All you have to do is set the AirDrop or Quick Share visibility to "Everyone for 10 min," after which your iPhone will be able to spot the receiving Android smartphone (and vice versa). Google is not saying how exactly it managed to trick the system, but it claims that the experience was built "with security at its core," and that it was tested by independent security experts.
We built this with security at its core, protecting your data with strong safeguards that were tested by independent security experts. It’s just one more way we’re bringing better compatibility that people are asking for between operating systems, following our work on RCS and unknown tracker alerts.
It is currently unknown if Apple had any input into this development. The company is infamous for keeping its ecosystem air-tight and not allowing other operating systems to tap into it. At the same time, there were several cases of Apple giving in to regulatory pressure, such as implementing RCS or switching to USB Type-C in iPhones. AirDrop is one of those conveniences that keep many users hooked up to their iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and it will be very interesting to see how Apple responds to the latest Quick Share update.
Google says the ability to "AirDrop" files from Android smartphones to iPhones and back is now rolling out to owners of Pixel 10 devices. As of right now, there is no information on which Android devices will follow, but Google promises to expand it to more Android smartphones.