Now Pixel 9 phones can transfer files with AirDrop, too

As with Pixel 10 phones, owners of (almost all) Pixel 9 phones will be able to send and receive files a little more easily with Apple devices. Files sent from Pixel to iPhone, Mac, or iPad will appear as AirDrop transfers. On the Android side, files are managed via Quick Share. The receiving Apple device must be discoverable by everyone – you can set a ten-minute time limit on this – and the Pixel must also be discoverable by everyone or in receive mode. Once done, just tap to accept the transfer and you’re well on your way to cross-platform sharing bliss.

That is, unless you own a Pixel 9A, you’ll have to use plain Bluetooth or some other old-school method. I asked Google why 9A was excluded from AirDrop support, and communications manager Alex Moriconi simply responded that they were “looking forward to improving the experience and expanding it to more Android devices over time.” So if you want to be half full, 9A might still be included in a future update. In the meantime, at least, I’m pretty optimistic that this AirDrop compatibility will continue in the long term.