Will Apple Kill Google's Surprise Android to iPhone AirDrop Interoperability?

Earlier today, Google made a astonishment announcement that the Quick Share record transportation diagnostic connected Pixel 10 smartphones was capable to enactment with AirDrop, enabling first-party record sharing betwixt Android devices and Apple devices.


Typically, Apple and Google enactment unneurotic connected cross-platform features, but it turns retired that Apple had nary engagement this time. Google created the Quick Share to AirDrop interoperability connected its own, and seemingly sprung it connected Apple with a nationalist announcement. From a connection Google provided to Android Authority:
We accomplished this done our ain implementation. Our implementation was thoroughly vetted by our ain privateness and information teams, and we besides engaged a 3rd enactment information steadfast to pentest the solution.
It's imaginable that Google gave Apple a heads up astir its program to devise an Android and iPhone record transportation solution, but Apple's full deficiency of information successful the announcement suggests that Apple wasn't funny successful moving with Google to make it.

Google says that it is utilizing its ain implementation, and Apple's instrumentality connected that is unclear. Apple has not historically supported third-party workarounds for interoperability betwixt ‌iPhone‌ and Android devices, and it continually worked to enactment a stop to an iMessage for Android diagnostic that Beeper attempted successful 2023.

The Beeper concern does look to person immoderate parallels with Google's AirDrop move. Beeper reverse engineered Apple's iMessage protocols and encryption, utilizing Apple's iMessage servers to let Android users to nonstop bluish bubble messages to ‌iPhone‌ users. Apple was capable to successfully unopen down Beeper's messaging solution.

Google is simply a overmuch bigger institution than Beeper, and present that it has publically announced and launched the Quick Share to AirDrop functionality, it would beryllium harder for Apple to reason it. Apple is besides facing much aggravated regulatory unit than it was adjacent 2 years ago, truthful it mightiness not privation to termination the cross-platform record sharing feature.

File sharing was implemented with an interoperability furniture betwixt Quick Share and AirDrop that uses the Rust programming language, according to Google.

Google claims that it had a third-party pentest the information of the record sharing protocol, and that it worked to vet the solution with its ain privateness and information teams. Google accompanied the announcement with a afloat blog post connected the underlying security. Apple hasn't commented yet.

Apple and Google person antecedently worked unneurotic connected respective cross-platform features, including RCS messaging, chartless tracker recognition and alerts, and SIM transfers.
This article, "Will Apple Kill Google's Surprise Android to iPhone AirDrop Interoperability?" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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