Google has just announced some unexpected and welcome news: Pixel 10 owners can now send and receive files with Apple devices over AirDrop. According to Google, it works with iPhone, iPad, and macOS devices, and applies to the entire Pixel 10 series. It’s limited to Google’s latest phones right now, but Google spokesperson Alex Moriconi says, “We’re bringing this new experience to the Pixel 10 before expanding to other devices.”
To send a file from a Pixel 10 phone over AirDrop, the Apple device owner must change their settings to make their device discoverable to anyone – there is an option to do this with an automatic limit of 10 minutes. Then, the Pixel 10 owner should be able to view and send the message to the device using Quick Share. On the other hand, it looks like it will look just like any other AirDrop request that the user can approve to initiate the transfer.
According to the support docs, it goes the other way too. Similarly, the Pixel 10 device will need to be in discoverable or receiving mode for anyone to access it. Then the Apple device owner initiates the AirDrop transfer, the Pixel owner accepts, and voila: cross-platform sharing.
In particular, it is not a Android The feature is limited to Google’s own phones and its latest generation – as of now. Still, this is a great news for Android users. Seamless sharing between Apple devices with AirDrop is one of those extremely useful features that has been kept behind the walls until now. With RCS now in widespread use on iPhones, making cross-platform messaging easier, this seems like another worthwhile step toward bringing down those garden walls.