Samsung Galaxy A57 and A56 Gain AirDrop Compatibility With One UI 9.0

What We Liked

• Native AirDrop compatibility through Quick Share that doesn't need a companion app on the Apple side, and that's been verified by multiple outlets
• You flip one switch, Share with Apple devices, inside Quick Share Settings and you're done
• It works both ways with iPhones, iPads and Macs, so you're not stuck with Samsung to Samsung only
• A feature that used to be reserved for flagships now lives on cheaper phones, and that shrinks the gap between the A series and the S series in a real way
• It's part of a bigger cross-platform move that kicked off on Pixel hardware and now it's spreading to more Samsung phones

Where It Falls Short

• Your iPhone or Mac has to be set to accept AirDrop from everyone, and that loosens privacy and adds an extra step
• Samsung's official One UI 9.0 changelogs don't mention this add-on at all, so it's confusing to figure out what's actually supported
• The rollout feels patchy and word of mouth driven, with solid confirmation only on the Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A56 so far
• There's no firm date for other Galaxy A phones, tablets, or Android brands outside Samsung and Pixel

Samsung's Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A56 just got the cross-platform fix people have begged for. One UI 9.0 brings it. For years you had to juggle cables, email yourself a file, or drop a cloud link if you wanted to move something between a Galaxy and an iPhone. This update finally lets Samsung's cheaper phones speak AirDrop directly.

What One UI 9.0 Actually Adds

The big change isn't a separate download. It's tucked inside Quick Share, Samsung's built in sharing system.

Every outlet that checked says the same thing. After installing One UI 9.0, Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A56 owners found a fresh toggle called Share with Apple devices buried in Quick Share Settings.

Turn that on and your Galaxy can push files to Apple gear over AirDrop protocols and pull files back too. You don't need a third party app on either phone to make it happen.

That's a shift worth paying attention to, because until now only Samsung's flagships had this trick. Gizmochina, Mezha and SammyFans all point that out.

Yugatech reports Samsung first switched on AirDrop support for the Galaxy S26 Series earlier this year, then pushed it down to the A family with One UI 9.0.

Android Police and Yahoo Tech back up that timeline. They say Galaxy A57 users noticed the toggle right after last week's One UI 9.0 drop, and Galaxy A56 owners saw it as soon as the update hit their device.

Why the Quiet Rollout Matters

Even though the feature is live, you won't find it in Samsung's official One UI 9.0 changelogs.

Gizmochina and Mezha both flag that omission. The documents say nothing about Quick Share AirDrop compatibility, yet owners of the A56 and A57 prove it works.

SammyFans calls the October expansion quiet, with users spotting it before Samsung said a word.

So if you're trying to confirm it, don't rely on the changelog. Owner reports and hands on checks are the only solid proof right now, and that pattern held across every source we reviewed.

How Quick Share With AirDrop Works in Practice

The setup is deliberately bare bones. It feels a lot like using AirDrop itself.

Enabling the Feature

Every source lands on the same steps. Get your Galaxy A57 or Galaxy A56 on One UI 9.0, open Settings, head to Connected devices, tap Quick Share, then switch on Share with Apple devices.

Gizmochina sums it up as opening Quick Share Settings and flicking the switch. Yugatech lays out the full menu path if you want it click by click.

You don't have to install anything else. No extra account. No pairing dance. And here's the kicker, the iPhone doesn't need a companion app either, which is more than you can say for a bunch of other Android brands that force the iOS side to add something.

Sending and Receiving Files

With the toggle enabled, your Galaxy starts seeing nearby Apple devices, and Apple devices see you. But there's a catch.

Gizmochina, Mezha and others all note your iPhone, iPad or Mac has to be set to accept AirDrop from everyone. If it's locked to contacts only, the Galaxy won't show up.

Once that visibility is set, you can move the usual AirDrop file types straight between phones or straight to a Mac. No cloud detour. No chat app compressing your video to mush.

Android Police put it bluntly and called it punching a hole in Apple's thick walled garden. It finally feels native, not cobbled together.

Real-World Experience vs. Spec Sheet Promises

Forget spec sheet transfer rates for a second. What matters is whether this actually saves you hassle when your house has both Android and iPhone in it.

That's where it shines. Before, Galaxy A owners had to email files to themselves, dump them in Drive, or send them through a messenger that crushed photo quality.

Now you tap share and the iPhone appears as a direct target. You keep the original quality, you cut out three or four steps. Simple.

And you don't have to talk your iPhone owning friend into installing some random utility. That friction killed a lot of third party workarounds, and Samsung sidesteps it entirely.

Yugatech draws that line clearly. Compared to other Android brands that still make the iOS user grab a companion app, Samsung's native hookup is just easier for the person receiving the file.

But look, there's a trade off. You have to open up AirDrop to everyone on the Apple side. If you care about keeping that locked down, leaving it wide open won't feel great.

Compatibility and Rollout: Which Devices Have It Now

Right now the picture is narrow but it's getting wider.

Confirmed Galaxy A Models

As of the October One UI 9.0 rollout, only two A series phones have verified support, the Galaxy A57 and the Galaxy A56.

SammyFans says a Galaxy A57 owner confirmed it last week, then as the update reached the Galaxy A56, users found AirDrop had arrived on last year's premium Galaxy A line phone.

Android Police matches that. Their note says SammyGuru caught the upgraded Quick Share tool on a Galaxy A56 unit right after moving to One UI 9.0.

Flagship and Foldable Predecessors

The A series didn't get it first. Premium hardware did.

Android Police and Yahoo Tech list the Samsung phones that already had Quick Share AirDrop before the A56 and A57 got it:

Mezha and Gizmochina add context. Google got there first with Pixel devices, Samsung followed by wiring it into the Galaxy S26 series and the FE models, and now it's trickling down to the A lineup.

So Samsung treated this as a flagship first perk that's now sliding down to cheaper phones. That's the most serious attempt yet to put a premium Apple convenience on an affordable Android.

What Might Come Next

More is probably coming, but nobody's putting dates on it.

Android Police and Yahoo Tech mention chatter that Samsung could bring it to more mid range options like the Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A27, or even the Galaxy tablets, as One UI 9.0 keeps rolling out.

Mezha echoes that. As the One UI 9.0 rollout continues, additional Galaxy A models could pick it up. But there's no official list, no calendar.

Yugatech notes Google has talked about expanding support to other Android makers, yet there's still no firm timeline. Without dates, that's just a promise.

How Samsung Compares to Competitors

To gauge this, reviewers stacked Samsung against Google and Apple.

Samsung vs. Google Pixel

Google built the bridge first. It debuted the Quick Share to AirDrop link on the Pixel 10 lineup last year, then carried it to Pixel 11 and other Pixel phones.

Samsung took that same idea and baked it into One UI, starting with Galaxy S flagships and now the Galaxy A mid rangers. That blows the potential user base wide open.

Here's why scale matters. Galaxy A phones ship in huge numbers compared to Pixel. If Samsung keeps pushing this down the lineup, millions more Android and iOS users could swap files without workarounds.

Samsung vs. Other Android Brands

Yugatech hammers this difference. Samsung's AirDrop link works natively, the iOS user doesn't have to download a companion app.

That detail decides whether people actually use it. If you have to ask your friend to install something just to grab a photo, most folks won't bother.

SammyFans frames Samsung as clearing the path for other Android vendors to follow. Still, none of those other vendors have confirmed native support in the sources we saw.

Samsung vs. Apple AirDrop

It connects the two worlds, but it doesn't match AirDrop's privacy granularity.

Because the Apple device has to be set to everyone, you give up the contacts only option you'd have for iPhone to iPhone. You trade a bit of control for cross platform convenience.

Every source flagged that same limitation. It's not one reviewer's quirk. It's how the current implementation works.

Limitations and Honest Trade-Offs

Before you assume this works everywhere, weigh a few caveats.

You need One UI 9.0, and when you get it depends on region and carrier. With nothing in the official changelog, tracking that rollout is messy.

Even on the Galaxy A57 and A56, the toggle doesn't appear for everyone at once. Staged deployment means two identical phones can show different settings after the same update.

And that Apple side requirement, AirDrop set to everyone, won't fly in some workplaces or for anyone who keeps sharing locked tight.

We also didn't get hard numbers. No source provided transfer speeds, range, max file size, or stability tests. So beyond it works, performance is still unverified.

Plus the scope is narrow right now. It's file sharing only. None of the sources mention NameDrop, clipboard handoff, or other continuity extras, and no reviewer claimed those work.

Galaxy A57 and A56 Ratings Breakdown

No numerical ratings, benchmark scores, or lab test results were provided in the sources for this specific One UI 9.0 feature update. Reviewer sentiment was synthesized qualitatively:

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you enable AirDrop on Galaxy A57 and A56?

Update to One UI 9.0, then go to Settings, Connected devices, Quick Share, and turn on Share with Apple devices.

Do you need an app on the iPhone to receive files from a Galaxy A phone?

No, Samsung's implementation works natively with AirDrop and does not require a companion app on the iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Why does the Apple device need to allow AirDrop from everyone?

Sources report the Galaxy phone can only discover and share with Apple devices when the Apple device's AirDrop is set to everyone.

Is the feature mentioned in the official One UI 9.0 changelog?

No, multiple sources confirm the official One UI 9.0 changelogs do not mention the Quick Share AirDrop expansion despite user confirmations.

Will other Galaxy A models get AirDrop support?

Sources suggest more Galaxy A models may get it as the One UI 9.0 rollout continues, but no official timeline or device list has been provided.

Final Verdict

If you live in a mixed household, half Galaxy A, half iPhone, this is the update you've waited for. It isn't flashy, but native AirDrop in Quick Share kills the daily friction of sending full quality photos and docs without begging someone to install an extra app. Samsung kept it quiet and made you dig for it, and that everyone setting on the Apple side still feels like a workaround. But the direction is clear. Flagship perks don't stay flagship for long, and the wall between Android and iPhone just got a lot shorter. Grab One UI 9.0, flip that toggle, and watch how fast you stop reaching for a cable.

Sources

• gizmochina.com
• mezha.net
• yugatech.com
• sammyfans.com
• facebook.com
• androidpolice.com
• tech.yahoo.com

Source: this story was first reported by gizmochina.com.