For years, sharing a file between an Android phone and an iPhone was an exercise in mild frustration. You either bounced things through WhatsApp, took a cloud detour, or accepted that some things just did not cross the aisle cleanly. AirDrop, Apple’s quick and wireless transfer feature, simply did not talk to the outside world.
That is changing. And Samsung is now officially part of the solution.
Samsung has confirmed the Galaxy devices that support AirDrop through Quick Share, the company’s built-in file sharing tool on Android. The expansion goes well beyond the Galaxy S26 series, which was the first Galaxy lineup to get the feature when it rolled out in late March 2026.
Which phones made the list
Samsung confirmed that the following devices are now receiving AirDrop support through Quick Share on One UI 8.5 beta:
- Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra
- Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra
- Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7
- Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6
That is ten devices added in one announcement, alongside the Galaxy S26 series that already had the feature. In Samsung’s own words: “Building on our ongoing collaboration with Android, Samsung is introducing support for AirDrop through Quick Share on One UI 8.5 beta, enabling more seamless cross-platform file sharing for Galaxy users on select devices.”
For perspective, that is wider support than even Google has released on its own Pixel devices, which were the first Android phones to get AirDrop compatibility when the feature launched last year.
The catch you should know about
For these devices, none of this works on your current software out of the box. To access AirDrop support, you need to install the One UI 8.5 beta, which is available through the Samsung Members app. Beta software, by definition, comes with trade-offs: occasional bugs, apps that may not behave as expected, and a generally less polished day-to-day experience than a stable release.
If you are not keen on running experimental software on your main device, the stable One UI 8.5 rollout is expected to begin in late April or early May 2026, starting in South Korea. Availability and timing may also differ depending on your market, so even beta users in some regions may not see the feature land immediately.
How it actually works
Before you try it, it helps to understand the mechanics because this is not magic. It is a clever piece of engineering.
As we covered when Google first launched this feature on the Pixel 10, Google reverse-engineered Apple’s AirDrop protocol without any formal partnership from Apple. The result is that Android devices running Quick Share can now speak AirDrop’s language. To an iPhone, the Samsung phone looks and behaves like another Apple device.
For the transfer to work, the iPhone user needs to have AirDrop set to “Everyone”, the standard setting used when receiving a file from a new contact. Once active, the iPhone appears in the Galaxy phone’s Quick Share panel. The iPhone then receives a standard AirDrop acceptance prompt, and the file saves to the relevant app on the Apple device.
On the Galaxy side, the setup is simple. Go to Settings > Connected devices > Quick Share and enable the “Share with Apple devices” toggle.
What about older Galaxy phones?
Samsung has also expanded the One UI 8.5 beta to the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5. However, those devices are not included in the current list of phones officially supporting the AirDrop integration. Whether that changes before the stable release is not yet confirmed.
The Galaxy A36 5G, which made history as the first A-series phone admitted to the One UI 8.5 beta, is also not on the AirDrop list for now.
Why this matters
In Kenya, and across much of Africa, iPhones and Android phones coexist in the same offices, households, and friend groups. The inability to move a file cleanly across platforms has always been a small but persistent friction. AirDrop across Android and iOS removes that friction without needing an internet connection, a third-party app, or any setup on the iPhone user’s side beyond keeping AirDrop open.
The fact that Samsung is pushing this feature to its 2024 and 2025 flagship devices within weeks of the S26 launch is a good sign. The stable One UI 8.5 rollout, expected to begin before the end of April, will determine how quickly this reaches users in markets like Kenya without requiring a beta enrollment.
For now, if you own one of the ten confirmed Galaxy devices and do not mind running beta software, the feature is already there to try.
