Why didn't anyone think of this sooner? You can exchange files between iPhone and Android extremely easily

“Just send it to me somehow.” One of the most annoying phrases uttered between an Android owner and an iPhone owner whenever they needed to transfer a photo or file. Email is prehistoric, WhatsApp compresses photos. At the developer event The Android Show: I/O Edition, Google introduced two solutions that are finally meant to cut this problem short. One universal, one elegant.

The elegant solution is the expansion of direct Quick Share compatibility with Apple AirDrop, which we discuss below. The universal solution is the newly announced QR code sharing, which will work on every Android device regardless of brand, model, or system version. And that’s precisely why it’s the more interesting new feature.

QR code: the simplest solution goes through the cloud

The principle is so simple that Google might wonder why no one thought of it sooner. When you want to send a file from Android to iPhone, the phone generates a QR code. The recipient scans it using the classic Camera app on iPhone, a link opens, and they download the attached files. No app installation, no accounts, no device pairing.

Under the hood, however, something is happening that doesn’t quite match the image of peer-to-peer sharing. The files are uploaded to cloud storage, and the iPhone simply downloads them from there via a private link. While Google promises end-to-end encryption, a 24-hour time limit on availability, and the inability to share the generated link further, it is still a compromise.

For a quick vacation photo or a PDF document, it’s perfect. For a 4K video shot moments ago at a wedding, less so. Versatility comes at a price, and in this case, it’s measured in gigabytes of mobile data. The feature should appear in Quick Share for all users by the end of June.

Direct AirDrop bridge: for a select few for now

In addition to the QR solution, Google continues to expand direct AirDrop compatibility in Quick Share. The company first introduced this last year with the Pixel 10 series and is gradually extending it to other devices. Currently, this direct compatibility works on Pixel 8a, 9, and 10, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, the flagship Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find N6, and the vivo X300 Ultra.

However, the list of supported models will soon expand significantly. Google confirmed that support will arrive for:

• Samsung Galaxy S25 and S24
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, Z Flip7, Z Fold6, and Z TriFold
• Oppo Find X8
• OnePlus 15
• Honor Magic V6 and Magic8 Pro

Apple retreats, but just enough

This entire initiative is remarkable in a broader context. For years, Apple kept AirDrop as a walled garden exclusively for its own ecosystem. That Google managed to build a functional bridge even without official cooperation is technologically commendable — even if the result isn’t a fully equivalent protocol, but rather a bypass of barriers via a cloud pump and QR codes.

For the average user, however, what matters is that something is finally happening. Years ago, the RCS initiative emerged, which Apple also initially rejected but eventually adopted in iOS 18. File sharing across ecosystem boundaries is taking a similar path — slowly, with compromises, but unstoppably.

Do you often send files between Android and iPhone? How do you handle it today?

Source: Google