Back in November last year, Google managed to break into Apple's ecosystem by bringing AirDrop support for Quick Share. It started with the Pixel 10 series and has now rolled out to the Galaxy S26 series and even the Galaxy S25 models. Now, it looks like Android is about to gain another key AirDrop feature very soon, starting with One UI 9.
Quick Share Could Soon Unlock "Tap to Share" for One UI 9
Tech publication Android Authority has exclusively revealed that One UI 9 could soon gain an NFC-based Tap to Share feature, as part of Quick Share. It will work similarly to AirDrop's tap-based file transfer system, where Android phones will be able to wirelessly transfer/receive files by bringing their phones close together.
The interesting bit of this new development is that it is not limited to Samsung phones. The report states that a similar feature dubbed “Gesture Exchange” was also spotted inside Google Play Services and even the Android 17 Canary builds have extensively mentioned a system-level service called “TapToShare.”
This implies that "Tap to Share" will be implemented by Google at the OS level and will soon become available to all Android phones with Quick Share support. If this turns true, Android users will soon gain the seamless file and contact sharing experience that iPhones have enjoyed for so long.
That said, at the time of writing, it is unclear as to when Google and/or Samsung will introduce Tap to Share for Android devices. Given that it is being implemented on a system-level, expect a near-future rollout with either one of Android 17 Beta updates or with a major Android release, which is expected to go live at Google I/O 2026.
