Google teases AirDrop support for more Android phones ‘very soon’

Ben Schoon | Feb 5 2026 - 7:10 am PT

After launching on the Pixel 10 series last year, Google has teased that AirDrop support via Quick Share will be coming to more Android phones, with announcements coming “very soon.”

During a press briefing at Google’s offices in Taipei this week – where the company was giving tours for some influencers/media – Google’s Eric Kay revealed that support for AirDrop via Quick Share will be expanding. Kay, Google’s VP of Engineering on the Android team, said that the functionality would be arriving this year for Android phones beyond the Pixel 10 series now that the company has “proven” the functionality.

Kay explained, as transcribed by Android Authority:

Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability. In 2026, we’re going to be expanding it to a lot more devices…

We spent a lot of time and energy to make sure that we could build something that was compatible not only with iPhone but iPads and MacBooks. Now that we’ve proven it out, we’re working with our partners to expand it into the rest of the ecosystem, and you should see some exciting announcements coming very soon.

Top comment by CyanPaw

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EDIT: In their reply to this comment, @Sominemo pointed out that contrary to initial reports (started by a flawed article by the otherwise trustworthy Ars Technica) it's unlikely that the EU-mandated rollout of Wi-Fi Aware on iOS and iPadOS played a significant role in Google's AirDrop solution - if any - and the timing seem to be just a coincidence. I missed this development in the story so thank you @Sominemo for getting me up to speed.

Although this turned out to be a bad example, my original points still stand.

ORIGINAL:

This is just your friendly, customary reminder that this is not Google 'magic' but the result of fair competition laws by the EU.

Side note and food for thought for people who are dissing the EU for slowing the adoption / introduction of features compared to the US or other countries: Not introducing or postponing a feature in the EU is an admission (and an undeniable proof) that it violates basic principles of privacy and data protection. Should EU rules be more streamlined? Of course. I cannot accept, however, the argument that the EU is stifling innovation because it won't readily compromise on rights derived from our common values.

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Google first rolled out support for AirDrop interoperability with iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks through Quick Share on the Pixel 10 series in November 2025. And, ever since, the functionality has been exclusive to Google’s latest phones. There have been hints it might expand, but no actual announcements or rollouts.

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Kay’s comments suggest it’s happening in the not-too-distant future, with the “very soon” timeline at least applying to an announcement of some kind. With Samsung’s Unpacked event and MWC both around the corner, those both seem like potential places Google could make announcements, but that’s only speculation on our part. We always knew this was coming, though, as Google made it clear from the beginning that the plan was always to expand to additional Android devices.

Needless to say, that’s pretty exciting, but it might not be Google’s only push for better cohesion between Android and iOS. Kay also mentioned that Google is “going to be working to make it easy for people who do decide to switch to transfer their data and make sure they’ve got everything they had from their old phone,” apparently pointing at iOS in particular. No other details were shared on that point, though.