Do you have a friend, family member or colleague who won’t give up their iPhone? Makes file sharing a challenge; The only options are to use email, instant messaging, or a cloud storage site for larger or multiple files.
OnePlus has its iPhone Sharing tool in the O+ Connect app, which works great, although it requires opening the app on the receiving device first. Google added AirDrop to your Pixel 10 Seriesconfirming last month that it would also reach more devices in the line. Now Samsung is also joining in.
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How to Quickly Share from Galaxy S26 to an iPhone
Quickly share files with Apple devices is now super simple with a Galaxy S26 device.
1. First, make sure the iPhone or other Apple device is ready to accept a transfer. Gonna Settings on the Apple device.
2. Select General.
3. Select Airdrop.
4. Switch from Receive Off or Contacts Only to All for 10 minutes.
5. The device is now ready to accept a transfer from a Samsung Galaxy S26 device when it arrives.
6. Once the iPhone is ready to accept, make sure the Galaxy S26 is updated to latest software (you will also need Google Play Services v26.11.XX). You may also need update Quick Share app in the Galaxy store.
7. Gonna Settings.
8. Gonna Connected devices.
9. Select Quick Share.
10. Make sure Share with Apple devices is placed in the “on” position. Now you’re ready to share with your iPhone and other Apple devices.
11. Select a photo, video or a selection of files and Share icon.
12. Select Quick Share. A popup window will appear the first time you do this.
13. Find your device and tap it.
The feature is currently only supported on Samsung Galaxy S26 devicesbut Samsung says it will announce support for older model phones “at a later date.”
Testing AirDrop on Samsung Galaxy S26 series
I tested this with a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, an iPhone 17 Pro, and an M1 MacBook Pro. After updating to the latest operating system and following the steps above, including changing my iPhone and MacBook’s AirDrop settings to “Everyone,” I tried sending a variety of files. I started little by little with a single photo.
The aforementioned pop-up window confirms sharing with the iPhone and warns that the phone may temporarily disconnect from my Wi-Fi network while doing so. The transfer usually takes only a few seconds, so you won’t even notice if you do it. But it’s worth noting that if you transfer a lot of large files, it could take longer.
(Note that this means you won’t be able to share with Apple devices if your mobile hotspot is activated and the phone will alert you when this is the case.)
It worked instantly, just as it does from one Apple device to another. A pop-up appears indicating that a Galaxy S26 Ultra wants to share a photo and offers me the option to Accept or Reject. Once I hit accept, the image arrived and was added to my Recently Saved album. I then tried several photos and although it took a little longer, as is the case with Apple devices when sending larger files, it went smoothly. The same thing happened with a 1.5 minute video file.
The process worked equally well from a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to my MacBook Pro, with the pop-up window allowing me to Accept or Decline and, if I accept, choose Open in Downloads or Save in Photos. And of course it works when sending files from Apple devices to a Galaxy S26 (or recent Pixel devices), and these devices appear in the AirDrop flow.
As someone who often takes pictures of Android phones for articles and then edits them on my MacBook, this feature is invaluable. All screenshots taken from the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and used in this article, for example, were AirDropped to my MacBook Pro for editing in Photoshop. Previously, I had to upload the images to Google Drive and download them as a zip file from my computer, then unzip them and copy them into Photoshop. This eliminates some extra steps, making the process seamless.
Why this feature is a game changer
This feature bridges the two worlds of Apple and Android in a way that makes it simple to share content, regardless of which operating system you use. Imagine sitting at a table having dinner with friends. A person hands their phone to the waiter to take a group photo, then must open an email or instant messaging thread to send the photo to everyone.
In fact, this happened to me recently at a work event when a person took a photo and had to send us the image separately via WhatsApp since one had an iPhone and the other had an Android device. I didn’t have any people uploaded to WhatsApp, which required a few extra steps to add them. A quick AirDrop tap for both of us would have made it much faster.
As RCS messagingAirDrop on Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, as well as compatible Google Pixel devices, is another solution to the compatibility issues that have plagued the industry. We can probably expect the feature to come to more Android devices in the future. For now, it’s another reason why the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra ranks among the best Android phones.
Make the connection
One of the latest and greatest features of the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra flagship smartphone is the ability to AirDrop files from the device to a compatible Apple device, including iPhone, iPad and MacBook, bridging the worlds of Android and Apple.
