Emir BardakçıThis is the breakthrough Xiaomi users have been waiting for. The “walled garden” that made file sharing between Android and iOS a nightmare is finally crumbling.
Last year, Google shocked the tech world by enabling Android’s “Quick Share” to natively interoperate with Apple’s “AirDrop” on the Pixel 10 series. While it was initially a Pixel exclusive, Google has just confirmed that this feature is coming to the entire Android ecosystem, including Xiaomi devices.
The Walls Are Coming Down
According to recent reports and confirmation from Eric Kay, VP of Engineering for Android:
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Not Just for Pixel: Google has opted not to keep this a hardware-exclusive feature. Instead, they have upgraded the “AirDrop Extension” to a standalone APK on the Play Store, signaling a rollout to all Android OEMs.
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Full Apple Support: The feature isn’t just for iPhones. Google has confirmed full compatibility with iPads and MacBooks as well.
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System-Level Integration: This will soon become a native system capability. For HyperOS users, this means you will likely see “AirDrop” (or a compatible Quick Share target) appear natively in your share sheet when trying to send photos or files to an Apple device nearby.
Why This is Massive for Xiaomi
Xiaomi has always offered excellent cross-device connectivity within its own ecosystem (connecting phones to Xiaomi Pads and Laptops). However, sharing files with friends or colleagues using iPhones has always required third-party apps, email, or messaging services which compress quality.
With this update:
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Seamless Sharing: You can send a 4K video or a batch of full-resolution photos from your Xiaomi 15 or Redmi Note 14 directly to a friend’s iPhone via Quick Share.
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Business Ready: Easily drop documents to a client’s MacBook or iPad without needing cables or cloud links.
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Migration Made Easy: Google is also working with Apple to optimize the data migration experience. Moving from an iPhone to a new Xiaomi device will be smoother, transferring more data types effortlessly.
When Can We Expect It?
While a specific date hasn’t been set for every model, Google stated that they are “working with partners to expand the ecosystem” and that the feature will be available on more devices “soon.”
Given Xiaomi’s close partnership with Qualcomm (who is also pushing for this support on Snapdragon platforms), we can expect Xiaomi’s HyperOS to be among the first custom skins to integrate this game-changing feature fully.
