Older Samsung Galaxy phones just got a big upgrade – but don't count your chickens

Recently, we wrote about Samsung bringing AirDrop support to its current generation of flagship phones. That's a major milestone for the brand, allowing for greater connectivity with Apple handsets than ever before.

It makes use of the Android Quick Share functionality – to all intents and purposes, the same feature just for Android phones – but combines it with the ability to share files with iPhones with ease. That's a feature which debuted on the Google Pixel 10 series, and has since been unveiled for Samsung Galaxy S26 series handsets.

Older devices from the Korean brand weren't supported when the functionality was announced, but there's good news. It appears that some users of older handsets have started to spot the functionality in their software.

As shared on Reddit, a slew of users noted seeing details about the feature on their Samsung Galaxy S25 series handsets. There's just one slight problem – none of them were actually able to get it working.

Quick Share Airdrop Update for Galaxy S25 from r/GalaxyS25

The consensus among the thread seemed to be that it was waiting on the One UI 8.5 software update, which is currently rolling out to top tier devices in beta. That means similarly early software should soon be available for the older generation of handsets, which should allow this functionality to fulfil its potential.

Either way, it's a refreshing place to be. If you're still utilising an older Galaxy handset, it's good to know that major new features will still make their way down the pipeline – even if they do take a little longer to get there.

For the wider Android ecosystem, this stands to be one of the most important changes in a long time. For decades, people have had to split themselves between ecosystems or face convoluted workarounds to quickly share files and content. This change negates that, and it looks as though it'll be a feature welcomed across large parts of the industry.