Samsung has finally done what Android users have been quietly hoping for. Starting March 23, 2026, the company began rolling out Apple AirDrop compatibility directly into its Quick Share feature, allowing Galaxy S26 users to send and receive files with iPhones, iPads, and Macs without downloading a single third-party app.
This is not a rumor or a feature buried in a roadmap. The update is live, starting with the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, with South Korea receiving it first, followed by other regions including the US, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan.
What Samsung Quick Share with AirDrop Actually Does
For those unfamiliar, Quick Share is Samsung’s native wireless file-sharing tool, similar to how AirDrop works within Apple’s ecosystem. The problem has always been that these two systems never talked to each other. If you were a Galaxy user trying to send a photo to an iPhone, your options were either emailing it, using a messaging app, or fumbling through a third-party solution like Snapdrop.
That era is now over — at least for Galaxy S26 owners.
Once the update is installed, users will be able to send and receive files between Galaxy S26 devices and Apple’s ecosystem, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac, without relying on third-party apps. The transfer works wirelessly and natively, the same way AirDrop has always worked between two Apple devices.
There is one small setup step required. Owners of Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra devices will need to enable the feature in their phone’s Quick Share settings menu, using a new “Share with Apple devices” toggle. Additionally, both the Galaxy user and the iPhone user need to have AirDrop visibility set to “Everyone” for the transfer to work seamlessly.
How It Gets to Your Phone
Samsung has started rolling out a new software update for the Galaxy S26 series that brings AirDrop compatibility to Quick Share. The update is currently available in South Korea and carries firmware version S94xNKSU1AZCF, with a download size of over 700MB.
To get it, you simply go to Settings > Software Update on your Galaxy S26 and tap Check for Updates. Once downloaded, install it and the new toggle will appear in your Quick Share settings.
It is worth noting that this update runs on the February 2026 security patch and does not include the latest March 2026 patch, which is a minor point but worth knowing if you were expecting both updates bundled together.
Samsung Is Actually the Second to Do This — Google Got There First
Here is the context that makes this story more interesting. Samsung is not pioneering this feature from scratch. This feature first debuted on Google Pixel 10 devices in late 2025, and has since expanded to the Pixel 9 series in recent weeks.
Samsung has now officially become the second Android smartphone brand to offer native AirDrop support on its devices. The timing makes sense — Google laid the groundwork by convincing Apple to open up AirDrop through the adoption of a standard Wi-Fi-based protocol, and now other Android manufacturers are following through on the same infrastructure. Before the S26 launch, a screenshot of the feature’s interface had already been leaked, but the feature was not actually available when the phones shipped. Samsung later confirmed that AirDrop support would arrive through a software update.
This also means that the feature requires no special hardware. Older Galaxy devices are not left behind in principle — they just have to wait for Samsung to confirm and push the update to their models.
When Will Other Galaxy Devices Get It?
AirDrop support will initially be available on the Galaxy S26 series, with expansion to additional devices to be announced at a later date. Samsung has not provided a specific timeline for the broader rollout, which means Galaxy S25 owners and those on older flagships are in a holding pattern for now.
Given that the feature is entirely software-driven, the expectation in the tech community is that it will eventually reach more Galaxy models, potentially tied to a future One UI update. But Samsung has not committed to that publicly.
Why This Matters Beyond the Tech Specs
Cross-platform file sharing between Android and iOS has been a friction point for years. It seems like a small inconvenience until you are actually in the moment — standing next to someone at work, at a wedding, or in a meeting, trying to get a file from one ecosystem to the other with none of the right apps installed.
Samsung’s AirDrop feature resolves a long-standing file-sharing issue that Android and Apple users have faced for years. Baking it natively into Quick Share means it works the same way AirDrop does on Apple devices — no app download, no account login, no QR code scanning. You open Quick Share, you see the nearby device, you tap send. That simplicity is what makes this genuinely useful for everyday people, not just tech enthusiasts.
The bigger picture here is an Android ecosystem that is increasingly willing to meet iPhone users halfway. Whether Apple will ever reciprocate in a meaningful way remains to be seen.
Bottom Line
If you own a Galaxy S26, S26+, or S26 Ultra and live in South Korea, the update is rolling out now. For everyone else, it should then expand to areas such as North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Latin America in the coming days and weeks. Check your Software Update settings and keep an eye out for the 700MB+ package.
For the broader Galaxy lineup, patience is the only option for now — but given that this is a software feature, there is good reason to expect it will arrive eventually.
Source: Samsung Newsroom.
