Google may soon let Android users share files with iPhone, Mac via Quick Share

Google may be working on expanding Android’s sharing capability to iPhone and Mac with a new version of the Quick Share tool. The upcoming Quick Share tool may support file transfers between an Android phone and an iPhone or a Mac – something that has been available through workarounds without native support from Google or Apple .

Android enthusiast Mishaal Rahman claims to have found an addition to Google’s Nearby Connections API, a peer-to-peer networking facility available on Android-powered devices via tool called Quick Share (previously Nearby Share). Quick Share currently supports ChromeOS and Windows devices officially, but the lack of support for the Apple ecosystem, particularly iOS and macOS, has often been a discussion topic.

“For iOS and macOS, the device name is already localised and generally works well for Quick Share purposes… avoid using the non-localised account name and device type concatenation,” reads a comment in Google’s Nearby Connections repository, according Rahman. While this is not an official confirmation from Google, the existence of the necessary framework to enable peer-to-peer transfers between Android and iOS or macOS hints at an impending release of an updated Quick Share tool.

While it is not clear how Quick Share will support iOS or macOS, the report suggests it could work through an app, in which case Google may offer Quick Share through Apple’s App Store. That means Google must follow the App Store’s guidelines, often criticised for being stringent and less flexible for developers. Quick Share could let iPhone users share files with Android users similarly to how they send files to an Apple devices using AirDrop. But Apple is unlikely to let the Quick Share app work the way AirDrop does and may put restrictions.

Previously, Google had lambasted Apple time and again for not supporting Rich Communication Services (RCS) – a popular protocol for instant messaging between Android devices. After months of resistance, Apple acknowledged Google’s persistent requests (and criticism) and introduced RCS support in iOS 18.1, which was rolled out earlier this week.