Sending photos and videos between an Android phone and an iPhone has always been a slow and tedious process. People usually resort to messaging apps that ruin the picture quality or email links that take too long to open. That barrier is officially ending today. Samsung is rolling out an update for the Galaxy S26 series that brings native support for Apple AirDrop.
You can finally send files from your new Samsung directly to an iPhone without needing any extra apps. It’s worth mentioning that Google already confirmed that AirDrop-like Quick Share feature is coming to more Android devices later this year.
How the Galaxy S26 to iPhone file transfer works
The process operates exactly like it does between two iPhones. When you select a photo on your Galaxy S26, the regular share menu will now display nearby Apple devices. You just tap the name of the iPhone you want to send it to.
The iPhone user then gets a prompt on their screen asking them to accept the incoming file. Once they say yes, the transfer happens over a quick local connection. It takes only a few seconds, even for larger video files.
It is a major deal for users using devices from two ecosystems
Apple normally keeps its sharing features restricted to its own devices. Allowing AirDrop compatibility with Samsung phones is a massive shift in how these two brands communicate. This means you no longer have to worry about what phone your friends use when you want to share high-quality media.
The update is currently rolling out to all Galaxy S26 models globally. The feature is turned on by default, so you can start using it right away as soon as the download finishes.
