Google has confirmed that the neat AirDrop hack that they implemented for Pixel 10 devices will be expanded to more Android devices this year.
According to a report by Android Authority, Google is working with its partners to roll out that feature to the rest of the Android ecosystem. Apparently, the company says it is a move to make it easier for people to switch from the Apple ecosystem.
When Google launched that feature, it was a shock on the industry. AirDrop is known as one of the moats that Apple uses to make sure their 2.5 billion plus users find it difficult to leave their ecosystem. The fact that Google found a way around was a miracle, and the next question was when they would release it to other Android OEMs.
Another curious detail is that Google enabled the AirDrop interoperability feature by upgrading Quick Share to its own full APK. This signaled that it won’t be a Pixel only feature, which we are grateful for.
What does this mean for Android in 2026? Well, it means that we will start seeing manufacturers use this as a marketing tool to sell their Android phones. Carl Pei, Nothing’s founder confirmed that they are working on bringing the feature on their smartphones. Qualcomm hinted on a tweet that they would enable the AirDrop trick on their Snapdragon chips which means wider availability on many Android devices.
We are in the start of the new year, and we are waiting for smartphone companies to announce their Android phones for 2026. We should probably expect Samsung to announce this on Galaxy Unpacked or others announce it in their events or at MWC Barcelona at the beginning of March this year.
