Do you have a friend, family member, or co-worker who just can’t give up their iPhone? It makes file sharing difficult; the only option is to use e-mail, instant messaging, or cloud storage for larger or larger files.
OnePlus has its share with the iPhone app in the O+ Connect app, which works amazingly well, although it needs to open the app before the receiving device. Google has added AirDrop to its Pixel 10 series, confirming last month that it would come with other devices in the line. Now, Samsung is joining in, too.
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How to quickly share from Galaxy S26 to iPhone
Sharing files quickly with Apple devices is now very easy with the Galaxy S26 device.
1. First, make sure your iPhone or other Apple device is ready to receive the transfer. Go to Settings an Apple device.
2. Select Summary.
3. Select AirDrop.
4. Switch from Receiving Off or Contacts Only to Each for 10 Minutes.
5. The device is now ready to receive transfers from the Samsung Galaxy S26 device when it arrives.
6. Once the iPhone is ready to receive, make sure the Galaxy S26 is there updated to the latest software (You will also need Google Play Services v26.11.XX). You may also need update the Quick Share app via the Galaxy Store.
7. Go to Settings.
8. Go to Connected devices.
9. Select Quick Sharing.
10. Make sure Share with Apple devices is translated into “to”. Now, you are ready to share your iPhone with other Apple devices.
11. Select a photo, video, or file selection and to Share the icon.
12. Select Quick Sharing. A pop-up will appear the first time you do this.
13. Find your device and tap it.
Currently, the feature is only supported on Samsung Galaxy S26 devices, but Samsung says it will be announcing support for older phones “later.”
Testing AirDrop on Samsung Galaxy S26 series
I tested this with a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, an iPhone 17 Pro, and a MacBook Pro M1. After upgrading to the latest OS and following the steps above, including changing my iPhone and MacBook AirDrop settings to “Everyone,” I tried sending different types of files. I started small with one photo.
The aforementioned pop-up confirms sharing with the iPhone and warns that the phone may be temporarily disconnected from my Wi-Fi network while doing so. The transfer usually only takes a few seconds, so it won’t be noticeable even if it does. But it is important to note that if you transfer many large files, it may take longer.
(Note that this means you won’t be able to share with Apple devices if your phone’s hotspot is turned on, and the phone will warn you if that’s the case.)
It worked instantly, just like it does from one Apple device to another. A pop-up appears indicating that the Galaxy S26 Ultra would like to share the photo and gives me the option to Accept or Deny. As soon as I hit accept, the image arrived and was added to my recently saved album. After that I tried with more photos, and while it took longer, as it does with Apple devices when sending larger files, it also went through without a problem. It was the same with a 1.5 minute video file.
This process worked well from my Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to my MacBook Pro, with a pop-up allowing me to Accept or Decline and, if accepted, choose Open Photos or Save to Photos. And, of course, it works when you send files from Apple devices to the Galaxy S26 (or the latest Pixel devices), with these devices appearing in the AirDrop flow.
As someone who often takes pictures on Android phones for articles and edits them on my MacBook, this feature is very useful. All the images taken from the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and used in this article, for example, were AirDropped to my MacBook Pro for editing in Photoshop. In the past, I would have to upload images to Google Drive and download them as a zip from my computer, then unzip them and copy them into Photoshop. This eliminates several additional steps, making the process more stable.
Why this feature is a game changer
This feature brings together the worlds of Apple and Android in a way that makes sharing content easy, no matter which OS you use. Imagine you are sitting at a dinner table with friends. One person hands their phone to the waiter to take the group, then they have to open an email or instant messaging thread to send a photo to everyone.
In fact, this happened to me recently at a work event when one person took a photo and had to send us the image separately via WhatsApp since one had an iPhone and the other an Android device. He didn’t have a single person installed on WhatsApp, which took a few steps to install. A quick AirDrop tap for both of us would have made it much faster.
Like RCS messages, AirDrop on Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, as well as compatible Google Pixel devices, is another solution to the compatibility problems that have plagued the industry. We can probably expect to see the feature coming to other Android devices in the future. For now, it’s one more reason why the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is among the best Android phones.
Make a connection
One of the latest and greatest features of the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone is the ability to transfer AirDrop files from device to Apple device, including iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, connecting the world of Android and Apple.
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