Google quietly announced a remarkable innovation for its Pixel 10 series phones. Now users of these devices can send and receive files directly to iPhone, iPad and Mac computers using Apple’s AirDrop technology. Moreover, this function was developed entirely by Google without any contribution or approval from Apple. This development enabled AirDrop, which has been limited to Apple devices for years, to be used effectively on Android for the first time.
Although it is currently exclusive to the Pixel 10 series, this feature will be available to other devices in the future, according to Google’s statement. Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi pointed out the planned expansion process by saying, “We are first offering this new experience to Pixel 10 users, and then we will expand it to other devices.” In this way, the years-long sharing barrier between Android and iOS was overcome for the first time in such a direct step.
Pixel 10 users need to change settings for AirDrop support
In order for sharing to occur properly, some settings changes are needed on both devices. In order to send a file from a Pixel 10 device to an Apple product, the receiving Apple device must be set to “public”. Apple users can activate this for a maximum of 10 minutes. Then, the Pixel owner can make his device discoverable via “Quick Share” and send files to the other party. On the other side, this process looks just like a classic AirDrop request, and the transfer begins when the user approves.
This sharing is not just one-way. It is also possible to send files from Apple devices to Pixel 10 with the same method. In this scenario, it is sufficient for the Pixel device to be in “public” or “receive mode”. When the Apple device owner initiates the transfer via AirDrop and the Pixel user approves the request, the file transfer takes place.
According to the technical details on Google’s security blog, no workaround is used in this function. Communication takes place directly and peer-to-peer. This means that the content sent is not routed through any server, is not recorded in any way, and no additional data is shared.
Google also clearly stated that there was no collaboration with Apple during the development of the feature. Answering the question posed by The Verge, Moriconi stated that this feature was developed entirely independently by Google engineering teams. Moriconi also emphasized that, in addition to detailed audits of the privacy and security units within the company, penetration tests were carried out by NetSPI, an independent security company.
It remains unclear how Apple will approach this feature. The Google front stated that Apple has not yet given an official response. However, Google is trying to respond to possible security concerns in advance, with documents published on its security blog and independent security test results. It is known that Apple, in particular, is generally cautious about third-party solutions for security reasons.
However, this cross-platform support is currently only available for the Pixel 10 series. Since it has not spread throughout the Android ecosystem, it has limited usage for now. However, considering that the easy sharing experience offered by AirDrop has long been exclusive to Apple devices, this development is a notable step on the Android side.