Google has just announced an upgrade for some of its latest Pixel smartphones that brings compatibility with one of Apple's best and most useful software features for the iPhone.
Anyone with a Google Pixel 10 phone will soon be able to share files, including photos and videos, with iPhones, as Google has found a way to get Android's Quick Share function to work with Apple's AirDrop.
That means anyone with a Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL or Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be able to send files to an iPhone using Quick Share, and any iPhone will be able to receive it using AirDrop. The iPhone user just has to make sure they set AirDrop to be discoverable by "Everyone" which can be done via an option with a limit of ten minutes.
This also works the other way, according to Google, with Pixel 10 phones able to receive files from iPhones via AirDrop.
"When it comes to sharing moments between family and friends, what device you have shouldn't matter - sharing should just work," Google said in a blog post on November 20. "But we've heard from many people that they want a simpler way to share files between devices.
"Today, we're introducing a way for Quick Share to work with AirDrop. This makes file transfer easier between iPhones and Android devices, and starts rolling out today to the Pixel 10 family."
I tried to test out the new function using a Pixel 10 Pro XL and iPhone 16, but my review unit sample of the Pixel does not appear to have had the update yet. Google does not mention if the phone will receive the new tool via a software update, so it's not clear when it will start working.
There is also no official word if the feature will roll out to more Pixel models or indeed more Android phones in general. One would hope it's possible given Quick Share is a tool on all Android phones, not just Pixels. Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi told The Verge: "We're bringing this new experience to Pixel 10 first before expanding to other devices." This does not confirm either way.
This cross-platform interoperability is rare between iOS and Android, and Moriconi said Google managed the feat without collaborating with Apple.
"We accomplished this through our own implementation," he told The Verge. "Our implementation was thoroughly vetted by our own privacy and security teams, and we also engaged a third party security firm to pentest the solution."
Being able to share hi-res images and video between Android and iPhone has always been a drag, particularly when using both phones' default messaging apps, which have traditionally compressed images and sent them over the ageing MMS protocol.
Away from using third party apps such as WhatsApp to share images and files, using Quick Share and AirDrop not only preserves quality, it's also a more secure method as it does not send data to servers or need a data connection to work.
If you have a Pixel 10 and friends or family with iPhones, it sounds as though it's about to get a lot easier to share those photos.
