Apple likely to kill off amazing AirDrop feature

Google just did something really cool: it developed a method for Pixel phones to use AirDrop for sharing files with an iPhone. However, this amazing new feature likely isn’t long for this world, as Apple insider Mark Gurman points out that the company will “want to kill this ASAP”.

Pixel 10 compatibility with AirDrop

Google announced yesterday that it had made it possible for Pixel 10 phones to use AirDrop with an iPhone. The Pixel uses Android’s Quick Share, but the iPhone sees it as another iOS device.

There are no legally-dubious workarounds at play here: Google says that both phones develop a peer-to-peer connection. The data being shared doesn’t go through a server, either, and neither is it logged anywhere.

Apple likely to kill off this feature

Unfortunately, Gurman believes that Apple will probably want to end this feature as soon as possible. On the other hand, Google has said that it is open to expanding this functionality even further by officially collaborating with Apple.


However, as Gurman also points out, Apple might open itself to more regulatory scrutiny if it goes through with blocking Google’s new feature. The iPhone 17 has already had to drop multiple “walled garden” features across the EU and even the United States, and Apple won’t want further legal trouble.

But, if Apple doesn’t respond to this in one way or another, it opens the door for other phone manufacturers to pull similar stunts in the future.

The walled garden continues to crumble

After the EU’s DMA (Digital Markets Act) forced the iPhone 15 to adopt USB-C, we’ve seen the company slowly lose more and more exclusive features. For example, app sideloading and third-party NFC payments are now also possible in the EU. The aforementioned USB-C, meanwhile, is global.

There are many positives to some Apple features and quirks being done away with, but it certainly removes that air of exclusivity. Apple is likely very unhappy with these developments too.

I, personally, wish that the company would just let other phones interface with AirDrop, so that everyone’s lives can be made easier. But, I think we all know that Apple will probably push back against this, and hard.