This is a game-changer — I can finally AirDrop from my Samsung Galaxy S26 to an iPhone

• Samsung is updating Quick Share
• The wireless file and photo sharing feature will now support iPhone’s AirDrop
• Only the Galaxy S26 series for now

Samsung just broke through a major platform barrier, and one that is certain to thrill both iPhone and Samsung Galaxy owners: Its version of Quick Share will soon support Apple’s AirDrop.

Quick Share and AirDrop perform essentially the same function but on distinctly separate platforms (Android and iOS, respectively). Each lets you quickly transfer files, photos, and videos wirelessly from one phone to another. Both use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to establish the ad-hoc connection. Neither, until now, has worked across iPhone and Galaxy phones, but that’s about to change.

Starting on March 23 in South Korea and over the following week in the US, Quick Share will receive an update that lets Galaxy phones share files to iPhones via AirDrop. The caveat — and it’s a big one — is that it will only work with Samsung Galaxy S26 phones. Samsung says they’ll be adding more devices “at a later date.”

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Enabling the feature should be easy. On your Galaxy S26 device, open the Quick Panel and select Connected Devices and then Quick Share. Next, select the new “Share with Apple Devices.” After that, you’ll have the option to select a nearby iPhone, assuming they are open to Everyone (or Contacts, we presume).

Following Pixel’s lead

Samsung’s update follows Google’s local sharing technology update that also added AirDrop support to Quick Share on Pixel devices late last year. Quick Share on Pixel 10 devices shares the same architecture as Quick Share on Galaxy phones, so it’s not all that surprising that S26 phones now have AirDrop capabilities.

At the moment, it’s not clear if the S26’s version of Quick Share will follow the Pixel 10’s lead and also allow iPhones to AirDrop files to Galaxy S26 phones. It’s easy to do on the Pixel 10 and, if Samsung misses that feature, this Quick Share update would only be half a solution. Still, since this is likely based on Google’s technology, there’s good reason to believe it’ll work both ways.

This expanding AirDrop support can only mean good things for future Android devices from all sorts of manufacturers, since this support is clearly coming at a platform level.

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A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.