AirDrop is a proprietary Apple ecosystem thing, everyone knows that. It’s basically just Bluetooth for discovery and a proprietary Apple WiFi protocol for transfer.
In the EU, Apple was forced to switch from that proprietary WiFi tech to another WiFi tech that Apple is also involved in. Someone else named it, it’s called WiFi Aware.
Google made Pixel 10 (and only that model) compatible in such a way that it can AirDrop to and receive AirDrops from an iPhone.
Nothing has to be done on the Pixel to receive the AirDrop.
To receive AirDrop from a Pixel 10, the iPhone must be set to allow AirDrops from anyone for 10 minutes. It does not work if they’re in your Contacts — that method requires iCloud authentication (same with iMessage and FaceTime). So even if they’re in your contacts, iPhone users have to allow AirDrop from everyone for 10 minutes to receive.
WiFi Aware is supported all the way back in Android 8. But it requires an iPhone running iOS 26 or later. That’s either the iPhone 11, or the iPhone 12, or newer. I wanna say 11 because SE 2 got 26 and that’s got the same chip as the 11, but I’m really not sure on that point.
Anyone who’s anyone in tech doesn’t give two shits about AirDrop. AirDrop just makes it easy. I’m an Apple guy. I use Universal Clipboard more than AirDrop. I have an iPhone (16 Pro Max) and an Android phone (Galaxy S10, from 2019). I never use AirDrop to send files between them. Obviously because I can’t. But I mean, it’s no problem to have one host, the other log into the first, and send/receive files. It’s easier if the iPhone hosts because the Android file picker is basically more open (I use Solid something or other, I forget the exact name, used it for over a decade though). That said, since the last iOS or the one before, the iOS Files app isn’t bad. They’re both capable enough. Anyway, it’s trivial for me to copy stuff over. Both ways. And from the Galaxy S10 to the Mac or vice versa. This has never been a problem for most techs. It’s just about making it easier for older folks… who would be better served by Apple products (because they’re basically easier).
Just wanted to say thank you for the information that this is based on Wifi Aware and the proprietary AirDrop protocol from Apple. Helps understanding why there are some limitations.
It is, and it should be easier. And to be fair to Android, back in the day you could just swap memory cards and copy files over to internal, swap back, put the file back on your memory card. Stuff like that. To be more fair to Android, they can mount to computers as external drives. iPhones never could.
Still, the media players on iOS — those that don’t use music.app as player — typically have a web server built in. The player itself will only recognise what it can play, but you could transfer anything using it. Then, with the updated Files app, you can pull it out of that app’s folder and put it into another one. Before, I used an app called Documents which had its own storage, plus it could read/write to any cloud storage you connected it to, and it could open/read just about any file, too. Now that app is kinda trash with ads and subscriptions and whatnot, but we got the base functionality in stock.
Everyone talks about the “walled” garden of iOS, and I get it, but for me, those “walls” have always been knee-high at most. I step right over them. And I’m not that smart. Lots of people can do it.
A lot of misinformation around this.
AirDrop is a proprietary Apple ecosystem thing, everyone knows that. It’s basically just Bluetooth for discovery and a proprietary Apple WiFi protocol for transfer.
In the EU, Apple was forced to switch from that proprietary WiFi tech to another WiFi tech that Apple is also involved in. Someone else named it, it’s called WiFi Aware.
Google made Pixel 10 (and only that model) compatible in such a way that it can AirDrop to and receive AirDrops from an iPhone.
Nothing has to be done on the Pixel to receive the AirDrop.
To receive AirDrop from a Pixel 10, the iPhone must be set to allow AirDrops from anyone for 10 minutes. It does not work if they’re in your Contacts — that method requires iCloud authentication (same with iMessage and FaceTime). So even if they’re in your contacts, iPhone users have to allow AirDrop from everyone for 10 minutes to receive.
WiFi Aware is supported all the way back in Android 8. But it requires an iPhone running iOS 26 or later. That’s either the iPhone 11, or the iPhone 12, or newer. I wanna say 11 because SE 2 got 26 and that’s got the same chip as the 11, but I’m really not sure on that point.
Anyone who’s anyone in tech doesn’t give two shits about AirDrop. AirDrop just makes it easy. I’m an Apple guy. I use Universal Clipboard more than AirDrop. I have an iPhone (16 Pro Max) and an Android phone (Galaxy S10, from 2019). I never use AirDrop to send files between them. Obviously because I can’t. But I mean, it’s no problem to have one host, the other log into the first, and send/receive files. It’s easier if the iPhone hosts because the Android file picker is basically more open (I use Solid something or other, I forget the exact name, used it for over a decade though). That said, since the last iOS or the one before, the iOS Files app isn’t bad. They’re both capable enough. Anyway, it’s trivial for me to copy stuff over. Both ways. And from the Galaxy S10 to the Mac or vice versa. This has never been a problem for most techs. It’s just about making it easier for older folks… who would be better served by Apple products (because they’re basically easier).
Just wanted to say thank you for the information that this is based on Wifi Aware and the proprietary AirDrop protocol from Apple. Helps understanding why there are some limitations.
This is high quality information; well presented.
Also QuickShare is not an Android feature, it’s Google Play Services (GMS) feature, it doesn’t work on degoogled android phones.
Here is the issue about implementing it in microG: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/1272
Such a pain in the ass just to share some files.
It is, and it should be easier. And to be fair to Android, back in the day you could just swap memory cards and copy files over to internal, swap back, put the file back on your memory card. Stuff like that. To be more fair to Android, they can mount to computers as external drives. iPhones never could.
Still, the media players on iOS — those that don’t use music.app as player — typically have a web server built in. The player itself will only recognise what it can play, but you could transfer anything using it. Then, with the updated Files app, you can pull it out of that app’s folder and put it into another one. Before, I used an app called Documents which had its own storage, plus it could read/write to any cloud storage you connected it to, and it could open/read just about any file, too. Now that app is kinda trash with ads and subscriptions and whatnot, but we got the base functionality in stock.
Everyone talks about the “walled” garden of iOS, and I get it, but for me, those “walls” have always been knee-high at most. I step right over them. And I’m not that smart. Lots of people can do it.