Google releases QuickShare with AirDrop compatibility

I'm sure that Apple is not happy right now.

Google recently announced that their new QuickShare feature, previously known as Nearby Share, is now compatible with iPhones and AirDrop. This comes as a shock to many, especially because of Apple's ecosystem walled-gardening. One note is that it currently only works on Pixel devices, but hopefully it can come to other Android devices soon. There is hope for that, as the Verge reports that Alex Moriconi, a Google spokesperson, says that they are "bringing this new experience to Pixel 10 first before expanding to other devices.”

One of the biggest things that I noticed from the documentation and the announcement is that not only does it work to share from a Pixel to an iPhone, but it also works the other way - sharing files from an iPhone to a Pixel. The way to do it either way is to enable AirDrop sharing on the iPhone and switch it to "Everyone For 10 Minutes" as opposed to the "Contacts Only" option. Then, either side, as long as the Pixel also has QuickShare turned onto the correct setting, can send files just like it was native on either platform. It appears just like normal, just like an iPhone or an Android, respective to each platform.

The most important thing for a lot of people is safety and security and this certainly raised some security concerns. However, according to Google's safety documentation from NetSPI, it is secure and is peer-to-peer, meaning that it does not go to another server. It stays on the devices that you are sharing between. This is important, as it is a similar security concern for iMessage on Android apps that use servers to host your messages with imperfect security.

Of course, the first assumption, after learning that it is completely secure and peer-to-peer, is that it had to have been made in collaboration with Apple. However, that is not the case. Google confirmed to the Verge that they made it through their own development, not with Apple. This is interesting, as it essentially means that they reverse-engineered AirDrop and seamlessly implemented it into their own OS.

Google's new QuickShare feature being compatible with AirDrop is interesting and is a step towards more inter-operating-system features becoming a real reality. We will have to wait and see what Google does soon.