Android’s Answer To AirDrop Is Cooking Up A Major Redesign

Quick Share, the Android feature that enables users to send and receive files between devices locally, without an internet connection, is getting a redesign. According to an APK teardown from Android Authority, Google Play Services v25.15.31 beta includes code for a rework of the utility, including a facelift and even some new functionality.

In addition to sporting a new, more modern look, the updated Quick Share interface will work a little differently. As opposed to the current implementation in which you select who can send you files — your own devices, people in your contacts, or anyone nearby — Quick Share will soon show your receiving device to everyone nearby who has Quick Share open to the Send interface. Your device will show up with your first name (e.g., Taylor’s Pixel 9 Pro) to anyone around who’s ready to send files. Your profile picture will only be available to users who are saved in your contacts, however.

Android Authority posits that this new look is a peek at the look and feel of Material Design 3, the forthcoming iteration of Google’s software design language, expected to premiere at Google I/O next month. You can see Quick Share’s new style in Android Authority’s video above.

This updated version of Quick Share isn’t available yet; Android tinkerer AssembleDebug was able to get it up and running based on code present in the latest beta version of Google Play Services. Assuming Material Design 3 does debut at Google I/O, we may see the official unveiling of this interface in just a few weeks.

Earlier this week, an update to Quick Share added file previews on the receiving end, giving users better control over which files they choose to accept in Quick Share interactions.