Samsung just added AirDrop to the Galaxy S26, and the walled garden is officially dead

I have always had two phones. One for Android freedom and one to avoid being the social outcast who ruins the photo sharing thread.

If you were using a Samsung phone, sending a high quality birthday video to an iPhone friend (which is most people) means dealing with blurry WhatsApp clips or a WeTransfer link.

However, on March 23, 2026, Samsung pushed the update to the Galaxy S26, S26 +, and S26 Ultra, and that means I can finally discard all the network-based fixes that didn’t work.

How to make Galaxy talk to iPhones and Macs

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/Android Police

Your Galaxy device requires Google Play Services version 26.11.33 or higher and Quick Share app version 13.8.51.30 or higher.

The update handles these updates automatically, ensuring that the latest services are ready to go hand in hand.

When enabled, Galaxy devices can detect iPhones, iPads and Macs in the room. The only warning is about receiving.

In order for the Galaxy to see the iPhone or Mac, the Apple device must have AirDrop visibility set to All.

If it is set to Names Onlythe protocol will not work properly because Samsung does not have access to Apple’s iCloud authentication APIs.

Google broke the ground, and Samsung dropped the rest

Samsung might be the biggest name to break the wall, but they weren’t the first. This started back last year with the Google Pixel 10 series.

Google used the Pixel 10 to prove that Quick Share can talk AirDrop, and now we’re seeing a big explosion.

Oppo confirmed at MWC 2026 that its Find X9 series will support this platform distribution. We expect Nothing and many others to follow suit soon.

I suspect we are only months away from a world where “what phone do you have?” is no longer an important question when you want to share a photo.

What happens when sharing is no longer a problem?

Walled gardens work by making things difficult to leave. It’s not that iPhones are actually better devices. It is so painful to leave them.

AirDrop was a key anchor in this strategy. If everyone in your friendship or office uses AirDrop, switching to Galaxy makes you a burden on the team.

You become the person forcing everyone to use a third-party app or wait for a slow cloud connection. By making the S26 AirDrop compatible, Samsung has mitigated this.

Now I can stand in a group of iPhone users, take a group photo on my S26 Ultra – which has a better camera though – and AirDrop to everyone.

Users are finally free to choose their devices based on quality. You can choose the Galaxy S26 for its 200MP sensor or its integrated stylus, or the Galaxy AI, without worrying about how you’ll get your files to your Mac.

Opening AirDrop on third-party devices is more secure than it sounds

Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police

Opening up a proprietary protocol like AirDrop to third-party devices sounds like a security risk waiting to happen. But the basic protection is strong.

Google built the translation component using Rust. It is a memory-safe programming language that is the industry’s gold standard for preventing the types of buffer overflow attacks that attack wireless protocols.

Google even hired an independent security firm, NetSPI, to examine the implementation. The test found that the system is more robust than other solutions in the industry, with no leakage of personal information.

Also, since the connection is peer-to-peer, your data never touches the server and is never uploaded by Samsung, Google, or Apple. The system uses a direct Wi-Fi network with end-to-end encryption.

This is more secure than using a third-party transfer tool or an unregistered cloud connection.

I also appreciate the “Everybody” look. It mirrors Apple’s privacy settings, so your device doesn’t permanently reveal its identity.

EU regulation forced Apple to open

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has been a nightmare for Apple’s legal team, but a nightmare for consumer choice.

The DMA mandates that gatekeepers such as Apple provide interoperability for their core platform services.

I believe that this regulatory pressure created the legal opportunity that Samsung and Google needed to combine these features without fear of a lawsuit.

We are witnessing a rare moment where the integration of intelligent software and the relentless control of government converge for the benefit of the user. I expect Apple to try to fight back. But the cat is out of the bag.