Google has taken a bold step to break the closed nature of Apple’s ecosystem. The company developed a way for its new Pixel 10 smartphones to exchange photos and files with iPhones through Apple’s AirDrop protocol. AirDrop has long allowed fast and wireless sharing between Apple devices. Google already offers Quick Share for Android, but it now wants both worlds to connect smoothly.
Google announced the new feature on Thursday and said Apple played no role in its development. The company built the system independently and hired a third-party security firm to review it. Dave Kleidermacher, Google’s vice president for platform security, said the connection works directly between devices without routing data through servers. He added that no user information is logged.
To receive files, iPhone users must change AirDrop settings to “everyone for 10 minutes.” They can then accept or reject a transfer request based on the displayed sender name. The feature currently works only with Google’s Pixel 10 line and is rolling out gradually.
Early tests showed smooth transfers between a Pixel 10 Pro, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and even a nearby Mac. Google says this approach benefits consumers, much like the industry shift toward RCS messaging that helped improve texting between Android and iPhone users.
