I have always had two phones. One for the freedom of Android and one to avoid being the social outcast who breaks the photo-sharing thread.
If you were using a Samsung phone, sending a high-res birthday video to an iPhone friend (which is a lot of people) means dealing with blurry WhatsApp clips or a WeTransfer link.
However, on March 23, 2026, Samsung pushed an update to the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra, and that means I can finally ditch all those web-based fixes that never worked.
How to get Galaxy talking to iPhones and Macs
Your Galaxy device needs Google Play Services version 26.11.33 or higher and the Quick Share app version 13.8.51.30 or higher.
The update handles these updates automatically, ensuring that the backend services are ready for the cross-platform handshake.
When active, Galaxy devices can see iPhones, iPads, and Macs in the room. The only caveat is on the receiving end.
For a Galaxy to detect an iPhone or Mac, the Apple device must have its AirDrop visibility set to Everyone.
If it is set to Contacts Only, the protocol cannot work properly because Samsung does not have access to Apple’s iCloud contact verification APIs.
Google cracked the foundation, and Samsung tore down the rest
Samsung might be the biggest name to break the wall, but they weren’t the first. This started late last year with the Google Pixel 10 series.
Google used Pixel 10 to prove that Quick Share could speak AirDrop, and we are now witnessing an avalanche.
Oppo confirmed at MWC 2026 that its Find X9 series will support this cross-platform sharing. We expect Nothing and many others to follow suit shortly.
I suspect we are only months away from a world where “what phone do you have?” is no longer a relevant question when you want to share a photo.
What happens when sharing is no longer a problem?
Walled gardens work by making things harder to leave. It isn’t that iPhones are necessarily better devices. It is that leaving them is too painful.
AirDrop was an important anchor in this strategy. If everyone in your social circle or office uses AirDrop, switching to a Galaxy makes you a burden to the group.
You become the person who forces everyone to use a third-party app or wait for a slow cloud link. By making the S26 AirDrop-compatible, Samsung has neutralized this.
I can now stand in a group of iPhone users, take a group photo on my S26 Ultra — which has a better camera anyway — and AirDrop it to everyone.
Users are finally free to choose their hardware based on merit. You can choose the Galaxy S26 for its 200MP sensor or its integrated stylus, or Galaxy AI, without worrying about how you will get your files to your Mac.
Opening AirDrop to third-party devices is safer than it sounds
Opening up a proprietary protocol like AirDrop to third-party devices sounds like a security risk waiting to happen. But the underlying security is strong.
Google built the translation layer using Rust. It is a memory-safe programming language that is the industry gold standard for preventing the kind of buffer overflow attacks that plague wireless protocols.
Google even hired an independent security firm, NetSPI, to audit the implementation. The audit found the system to be notably stronger than other industry solutions, with no leakage of personal information.
Plus, since the connection is peer-to-peer, your data never touches a server and is never logged by Samsung, Google, or Apple. The system uses a direct Wi-Fi pipe with end-to-end encryption.
This is far more secure than using an ad-riddled third-party transfer app or an unencrypted cloud link.
I also appreciate the “Everyone” visibility quirk. It mirrors Apple’s privacy settings, so your device is not permanently broadcasting its identity.
EU regulation forced Apple to open up
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has been a nightmare for Apple’s legal team, but a dream for consumer choice.
The DMA mandates that gatekeepers like Apple must provide interoperability for their core platform services.
I believe this regulatory pressure created the legal opening that Samsung and Google needed to integrate these features without fear of a lawsuit.
We are seeing a rare moment where clever software integration and relentless government regulation have converged to benefit the user. I expect Apple will try to fight back. But the cat is out of the bag.
