Quick Share is Android's AirDrop avatar: Here's how to use for file transfers
Last Updated: 2026-05-05 11:29:02
For years, Apple devices have boasted about AirDrop providing a neat file-sharing experience to transfer and receive files wirelessly. However, until recent years, Android users haven’t had any seamless file transfer option to match that.
Thankfully, those days are long behind us now with Quick Share (previously called Nearby Share) which allows users to send and receive large files quickly via a direct Wi-Fi link or a QR code. It can be easily found as one of the first sharing options nowadays, while you attempt to send a file, photo, or video.
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Here, we present a detailed guide regarding what Quick Share is and its key advantages. We also list a brief tutorial on how to use it.
What is Quick Share?
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Quick Share is a native Android file-sharing solution to share large files such as photos, videos, and documents between two supported devices wirelessly. The feature was initially developed by Samsung to use on its devices. However, in 2024, Google entered a collaboration with the Korean tech giant, which saw the then-Android file sharing solution, Nearby Share, merge with Quick Share.
Since then, like Apple AirDrop for iOS, Quick Share is now pre-installed in all Android devices and can be used to share files between Android phones, Chromebooks, tablets, and more. It now also supports cross-transfer of files from Windows, while certain Android device owners can even use Quick Share to send files to Apple devices through AirDrop.
What are the benefits of using Quick Share
Unlike some other traditional methods of sharing files, Quick Share doesn’t compress the size of files and provides a seamless way to send and receive multiple files wirelessly. Quick Share can be used to transfer files between two compatible devices that are in proximity, with either Wi-Fi Direct or Bluetooth.
The app can establish a direct temporary Wi-Fi connection between the sender and the receiver, with the sending device acting as a Wi-Fi hotspot. The connection is automatically terminated once the file transfer is complete.
Moreover, Quick Share allows fast data transfer speeds of up to 200MB/s. It even allows users to simultaneously send files to up to 8 nearby devices at a time, as long as their screens are on. If Wi-Fi Direct isn’t available, Bluetooth can be used as a slower backup option to transfer files.
How to use Quick Share
Here are the steps to use Quick Share to transfer and send files across various compatible devices.
- Open gallery or file manager to select a file and then tap on the Share icon
- Select the Quick share icon in the Quick Settings menu
- Turn on Bluetooth and select Who can share with you
- You can also change your Visibility settings to ‘Your device,’ ‘Contact,’ ‘Everyone,’ or ‘Anyone for 10 minutes.’
- To start a direct share with a nearby device, ensure the recipient is in proximity
- You can select a device by asking the recipient to scan a QR code
- You may also be asked to enter a PIN displayed on the recipient’s device
- Accept all these terms to start the file transfer
What devices support Quick Share?
Quick Share supports Android devices running 6.0 Marshmallow or later versions. At the same time, certain Android phones like the Pixel 10, Samsung Galaxy S25 and S26 series, Vivo X300 Ultra, and Oppo Find X9 Ultra offer Quick Share to send files to iPhones.
This functionality will be available on more Android devices in future, but an exact timeline hasn’t been announced. More importantly, Windows 10 and 11 users can download Quick Share from the Microsoft Store or the Android home page.