We’ve learned everything there is to know about the design and hardware of the Galaxy S20 series from an increasing number of leaks. We also have availability details for the upcoming flagship, including pricing and actual launch dates — the phones might be more expensive than you expect, and they’ll launch in mid-March. With more than two weeks left until the first Samsung Unpacked press conference of the year, we have plenty of time to learn the Galaxy S20’s software secrets. And the first one should be exciting news, as Samsung is apparently ready to add an awesome iPhone feature to the Galaxy S’s arsenal of tricks, a feature Apple released nearly ten years ago.
Like iMessage, AirDrop has been the kind of iPhone feature that Android handset makers, Google included, have had difficulty replicating. As the name suggests, AirDrop lets you drop files between devices via a local Wi-Fi connection that doesn’t need the internet or a cloud to facilitate transfers. With AirDrop, you can move files between iPhones and other iOS devices, but also macOS laptops and desktops. It’s the easiest and fastest way to transfer photos between friends, and the best way to move files between your phone and computer. Not to mention that AirDrop is a huge stepping stone towards a future where we won’t have ports on smartphones, and where a significantly improved AirDrop version would handle any data transfers to other devices.
While AirDrop arrived in 2011, Google and Android device makers have struggled with releasing an equally apt alternative. While Google is working on a feature called Nearby Sharing, that should work like Android, Android vendors are developing their own. Chinese companies Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are developing an AirDrop-like sharing tool that will work across their devices. And this brings us to Samsung’s Quick Share feature.
Quick Share was discovered on a Galaxy S20 prototype, and can be installed on other devices, although the actual transfer of files doesn’t work for the time being, xda-developers’ Max Weinbach reports. That’s the same leaker who unearthed a treasure trove of Galaxy S20 information, including the first photos of the phone’s Plus version.
Like AirDrop, Quick Share will let you share files with people nearby — you can share with contacts only or everyone, and you can select a particular device to beam files to.
The feature will also come with a unique twist that’s not available on iPhone. Quick Share will let you upload files of up to 1GB to SmartThings devices via Samsung’s cloud. You’re limited to 2GB per day, according to the screenshots, and the file will be streamed to the supported device from Samsung’s servers, where it’ll be stored temporarily.
Quick Share will probably be available on older Galaxy devices via future updates. After all, Samsung can’t reserve this feature to Galaxy S20 phones only.
