"Galaxy outcasts" born from IU's "Shall I share the photo?"...Soon possible on Samsung phones too [Global IT Issue]

[The Financial News] #1. A Hong Kong movie star who visited Korea in 2023 to attend the Busan International Film FestivalChow Yun-fattook a selfie with some 2,000 audience members and then treated fans by sharing the photo with iPhone users at the venue.#2. In the same year,IUwas filmed at an event asking fans she met, "Shall I AirDrop it to you?" The clip went viral among K-pop fans. When one male fan shouted, "Noona, I use a Galaxy," IU gave an awkward smile and replied, "Sorry."
AirDrop is a feature that allows people using Apple’s iPhone to send and receive files without having each other's phone numbers saved. It has become part of fan culture for celebrities to share their selfies via AirDrop with fans they meet on their way home from work or at events.
This feature is often cited as one reason why people in their teens and twenties prefer the iPhone. As it became a common way for friends to share photos, some even joked that using a Samsung smartphone could get you treated like an outcast.

Recently, overseas IT outlet PhoneArena and others reported that the situation has begun to change as the Pixel 10 series from Google started supporting Apple’s AirDrop through its file-sharing feature "Quick Share." They added that Google has announced more manufacturers will adopt this new capability, and also revealed which devices are expected to support it.
PhoneArena stated, "There is a possibility that Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, will support file sharing with Apple devices," and reported, "It is highly likely that this feature will be offered soon through a software update."
The most likely scenario is that data will be exchanged directly with Apple’s AirDrop via Quick Share. Once this feature is introduced, Galaxy users will be able to intuitively send high-resolution photos and large video files to nearby iPhone users without installing any separate apps.
Last year, Google added cross-platform file sharing between Android and iPhone to its Pixel 10 series. It is reported to have achieved compatibility with AirDrop through reverse engineering, without Apple’s cooperation. The same feature was recently rolled out to the Google Pixel 9, Google Pixel 9 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Industry observers see these moves by Samsung Electronics, Google, and the broader Android camp as a direct response targeting Apple’s powerful ecosystem.
Apple has long built a closed user ecosystem—a so-called "lock-in effect"—through features like AirDrop and iMessage that work only between its own devices.
Critics have argued that this closed connectivity has led to so-called "AirDrop exclusion," where iPhone users share photos and information only among themselves while deliberately leaving out Galaxy users.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter