Samsung has an answer for Apple’s AirDrop feature and it’s coming with Galaxy S20

The one-line description mentions ‘Share instantly with people nearby’. It also mentions that the receiver should also have this feature enabled in his/her device to make it work.

A journalist holds Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone at a press event. (REUTERS)

One of the wireless file transfer features for which Apple is known for is the AirDrop. This feature has been there since years now and makes use of both Bluetooth and Internet to transfer images, videos and other files within seconds between iPhones. Google tried its hand on implementing this feature with Android Beam in the past but that didn't work out well. Now, Samsung is trying to bring a similar feature in its smartphones, as per the latest screenshots shared by a leakster named Max Winebach on Twitter and XDA Developers website.

As seen in the images, the feature is called 'Quick Share'. The one-line description mentions 'Share instantly with people nearby'. It adds that the receiver should also have this feature enabled in his/her device to make it work. This definitely seems like a feature that will be limited to Samsung smartphones. It is also not for sure if this will be rolled out to older Samsung handsets or not.

Screenshots showing the unreleased feature by Samsung called 'Quick Share'. (XDA Developers)

Screenshots showing the unreleased feature by Samsung called 'Quick Share'. (XDA Developers)

Samsung's 'Quick Share' is supposed to show up in the sharing options where you also get the option to post on Facebook, Twitter and other apps. Users will also get the option to let only Contacts share files with them.

However, a few other screenshots reveal that Samsung is not simply mimicking Apple's AirDrop feature but is rather adding its 'Samsung Cloud' in the mix. The description shown in the screenshot states "You can send files to supported SmartThings devices. Files will be temporarily uploaded to Samsung Cloud, then streamed to the device. Make sure the device is turned on before you send." Also mentioned is that users can send upto 1GB file at a time and a maximum of 2GBs in a day.

The report adds that this feature will be debuting with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ and it might be there in all the Samsung devices that will launch with OneUI 2.1 and later.

While Samsung is at it, Google is also working on a similar feature. The feature is said to be a replacement of Android Beam and is being called 'Nearby Sharing'. In addition to this, companies like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have teamed up to work on a similar feature that makes file transferring easier between the devices of these three brands.