The news: Google, which successfully pushed for standardizing RCS messaging between Android smartphones and iPhones last year, has taken another step toward multi-platform interoperability by enabling its Quick Share feature to work with Apple’s AirDrop. 

Initially available on Pixel 10 devices, peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing will come to more Android smartphones as Google’s latest gambit to break down silos between competing mobile platforms. 

Why it matters: End users stand to benefit from greater platform interoperability, driven by Google and supported by EU laws like the Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

For brands, standardized two-way connectivity presents opportunities to reach Android and iPhone customers in the following ways:

• Content and offer sharing: Imagine a “share with friends” button within a mobile ad or on a receipt that uses these connections between Quick Share and AirDrop systems.
• Enhanced event and in-store experiences: Concerts, retail stores, and conferences are locations where consumers can receive digital swag, exclusive content, or special offers directly from a kiosk or a brand representative’s device.
• The rise of proximity marketing: As P2P protocols become universal, the ability to discover and interact with nearby devices becomes more reliable and enables novel proximity-based marketing campaigns. 

Potential caveats: Less friction between smartphone platforms sounds promising, but since Google enabled file-sharing without Apple’s involvement, there’s a chance future iOS updates could disable the feature.

Google is touting security at the core of Quick Share, but any expanded connectivity could have privacy risks, including spam, unsolicited contacts, and notification fatigue. 

What this means for brands: Open channels between Google’s Quick Share and Apple’s AirDrop show that the walls between mobile platforms are falling. Once users adopt a cross-platform feature, there could be no going back. 

Cross-platform connectivity can convert every customer’s phone into a node for frictionless word of mouth and every physical location into a potential digital touchpoint. Proximity-based marketing could take flight provided campaigns are firmly anchored by security and privacy.

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