airdropSamsung is said to be working on its own answer to AirDrop, Apple's ad-hoc service that lets users transfer files among Macs and iOS devices over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

According to XDA Developers, "Quick Share" will work similarly to AirDrop, enabling files to be sent "instantly" between two Galaxy phones in close proximity, so long as both devices have the feature turned on.

Like AirDrop, Galaxy users will be able to restrict who can send them files (Everyone or Contacts Only). When users set Quick Share to Everyone, it's not clear if the service will present unsolicited file shares in the same way as AirDrop.

Unlike AirDrop, Quick Share is expected to have a temporary cloud-storage component that will allow users to transfer data to SmartThings connected home devices. The maximum size of these files will be up to 1GB with a total of 2GBs being sent per day.

AirDrop was introduced with iOS 7, so it might surprise some Apple users that Samsung is only getting round to finalizing its own alternative. Android used to have an NFC-based equivalent called Android Beam, but it was discontinued with Android 10. Users have had to resort to third-party alternatives like Google's Files Go app since.

China's big three mobile vendors Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are also working collectively on an AirDrop-style peer-to-peer transfer protocol that is expected to launch next month.

Samsung's Quick Share service is expected to arrive with the launch of Galaxy S20+, which is slated for February 11, with the sharing service likely to come to older Samsung devices later on.

(Via The Verge.)

Top Rated Comments

GabrielMoro Avatar
44 months ago
AirDrop is still SO unstable. Between two iPhones, between an iPhone and a Mac... Sometimes the device don’t appear, sometimes they do but the transfer never goes through. It’s not very good.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Game 161 Avatar
44 months ago
Unstable? Not for me...never had an issue personally. Love this feature I must admit
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
44 months ago
Bloatdrop. For your Samsung bloatware special.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ShadowJade Avatar
44 months ago

AirDrop is still SO unstable. Between two iPhones, between an iPhone and a Mac... Sometimes the device don’t appear, sometimes they do but the transfer never goes through. It’s not very good.
I honestly use it almost daily, never have any hiccups. My social circle know that I text 0 items and they know all my shares come Airdrop. At parties all my guests turn it on for 20+ person photo shares constantly being flung by all...I have never witnessed any instability/fail to appear/failure of send...could be your device?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
44 months ago

Unlike AirDrop, Quick Share is expected to have a temporary cloud-storage component
Hopefully Samsung tells us more about the privacy and security of this cloud storage component. Those implications are vastly different between central storage and point-to-point. Just ask Napster. Oh wait...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Red Oak Avatar
44 months ago
What ever happened to Bixby?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Google Assistant

Google I/O 2016: Assistant, Home, Allo, Duo, Android N, and More

Wednesday May 18, 2016 11:51 am PDT by
Google hosted its annual I/O developers keynote at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California today, announcing multiple new products and services related to Android, search, messaging, home automation, and more. Google Assistant Google Assistant is described as a "conversational assistant" that builds upon Google Now based on two-way dialog. The tool can be used, for example,...