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3w ago

Android 17 Preps System Tap-to-Share as Samsung Brings AirDrop Transfers to Galaxy S26

Code points to a native tap trigger that uses Quick Share for the file move, hinting at wider support once Android 17 ships.

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Overview

  • Evidence in the Android 17 beta names a TapToShare service, with parallel clues in Samsung’s One UI 9 and Google Play Services that suggest a platform feature not limited to one brand.
  • The tap gesture is expected to use NFC only to start the handoff, with Quick Share completing the transfer so users can begin sharing by touching phones together.
  • Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup can now send photos and files to iPhones and Macs through Quick Share when both devices are visible and the iPhone is set to AirDrop’s Everyone mode.
  • The same cross-platform sharing is already available on select Google Pixel phones, though a 9to5Google test saw tap starts work between two Pixels but not between a Pixel and a Galaxy.
  • Quick Share has supported a little-known tap start since the Nearby Share era, and reports expect Google to formalize the experience in Android 17, which it has not yet announced.