Google is preparing a Quick Share software development kit that will let Android and iPhone apps build file sharing directly into their own interfaces, removing the need to open the system Share sheet. The company announced the toolkit at Android Dev Summit 2026, and it is expected to arrive for both Android and iOS in the first half of 2027.

At present, sending a file through Quick Share takes several taps: the user opens the system Quick Share sheet, then moves into a full-screen share interface. With the new kit, developers will be able to integrate Quick Share's peer-to-peer sharing and Tap to Share directly into their apps. A bottom sheet will pop up inside the app showing a preview of the files being sent, and the transfer can start without leaving the app.

Google says transfers will remain end-to-end encrypted, and the kit will handle hotspot creation and use Wi-Fi Direct on supported devices, keeping latency low and speeds high. Photos and videos will be sent at high quality without compression, and sharing will work offline, without a cellular connection or internet access. Developers will not need to maintain costly infrastructure of their own to support the transfers.

Crucially, users will not need a phone running Android 17 or iOS 27 to benefit. The Quick Share code lives directly inside each app, so the only requirement is that the app itself has been updated to support it. That means older phones should gain the feature as their apps are updated, rather than waiting for a system update.

The kit builds on work Google began last year. Starting with the Pixel 10 family in November 2025, Google's phones became interoperable with Apple's AirDrop standard. The capability has since rolled out to older Pixel phones and to handsets from other Android makers, including Samsung, Xiaomi and Motorola. Earlier this year Samsung added Quick Share support for Apple devices on selected Galaxy models running One UI 8.5 or later, so Galaxy owners can already send files to iPhones without third-party apps. Google has said the SDK will arrive in the first half of 2027, and developers on both platforms will be able to adopt it.

The SDK takes that cross-platform sharing a step further, moving it from the operating system into individual apps. For users, that should mean fewer taps and faster sharing between Android phones and iPhones. For developers, it offers a ready-made, encrypted way to add local file sharing without building the plumbing themselves.