Apple, understandably, is not ecstatic at the fact that Google was able to reverse engineer its AirDrop feature, bringing some much-needed cross-platform compatibility and hollowing out some of Apple's legendary ecosystem moat in the process. However, Apple equally might not be too keen to gut this workaround, at least for now.
Recap: Google has reverse-engineered Apple's AirDrop feature, making it work seamlessly with Android's Quick Share on Pixel 10 devices
As we reported recently, the technology that powers Apple's AirDrop feature is proprietary, but it does leverage open standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct.
The Verge, among other publications, was able to confirm earlier this week that Google reverse-engineered AirDrop without any apparent input from Apple, essentially finding a workaround for seamless file transfers between Pixel 10 Android devices and Apple iPhones, iPads, etc.
According to Google, the communication channel between Quick Share and AirDrop has been secured by:
- Using the "memory-safe" programming language Rust, whose compiler enforces strict ownership and borrowing rules at compile time, which guarantees memory safety.
- Conducting internal threat modeling, privacy reviews, and red team penetration tests, as well as engaging with NetSPI to further validate the security of this file transfer feature.
This workaround, however, remains at Apple's whims, as the Cupertino giant can choose to shut down the channels that Google is using to force Android's Quick Share and Apple's AirDrop file transfer functions to work in sync with each other.
We posit, however, that Apple might not be too keen on gutting Google's AirDrop workaround. Here's why.
Apple is currently at Google's mercy to power its revamped Siri in the cloud
We reported in early November that Apple is planning to use a gigantic, albeit tailored, Gemini AI model to power its upcoming revamped Siri. With 1.2 trillion parameters under its belt, the customized Gemini model would "dwarf" the 1.5 billion-parameter, bespoke AI model that Apple currently uses to power Siri in the cloud.
What's more, Apple will reportedly pay Google around $1 billion per year to use Google's proprietary AI technology, forming merely the latest tranche in the ongoing transactional relationship between the two tech giants. After all, Google already pays Apple $20 billion per year for ensuring default search engine privileges within the Safari browser and across other Apple services.
It is this close-knit synergy between Apple and Google that is likely to give the former a hefty pause before deciding to gut the latter's reverse engineering of the AirDrop function. After all, Apple needs Google much more than Google needs Apple right now, especially if the iPhone manufacturer aims to remain competitive in the AI sphere.
Yes, Apple can use other AI models to power Siri in the cloud. But, as per the reporting by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Cupertino giant already tested OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude LLMs before settling on a customized version of Google's Gemini to process the more complicated user requests that are to be offloaded to the cloud under Apple's Private Cloud Compute framework. This indicates that Google's terms were most attractive to Apple, and it would not want to rock the proverbial boat at this critical juncture.
The Antitrust scrutiny of Apple's activities has transformed from a limelight to a blinding spotlight
Apple has been compelled in various jurisdictions to open up its legendary ecosystem moat. For instance, in the US, Apple was recently compelled by a court in the Epic case to allow access to external payment methods and to enable the return of Epic's Fortnite app. While Apple has complied with the verdict, it still vows to charge a commission on those payments, prompting the judge in the case to call on Apple to cease doing so or face contempt proceedings, and even possible criminal charges.
In the EU, Apple has been designated a "gatekeeper" under the Union's Digital Market Act. The designation signifies that a particular entity has enough market dominance to block competition. Under the ensuing remedies, the EU has forced Apple to allow third-party app stores on its devices. Apple has also modified the terms for app developers in the EU, allowing those who enrolled in the modified program to pay a lower percentage of their overall app-derived revenue to Apple.
This situation has created a legal precedent, where consumers in other markets are also asking for similar privileges. For instance, in Australia, Epic recently asked the court to allow its apps to be sideloaded onto Apple devices without any associated commission.
Moreover, a group of around 55 Chinese consumers has now filed a formal antitrust complaint against Apple with China's market regulator, arguing that Apple maintains a monopoly over app distributions and payment methods in China while allowing off-App Store payments as well as third-party app stores in other markets.
Consequently, Apple would likely want to avoid a fresh bout of antitrust scrutiny by imperiously gutting Google's AirDrop workaround. Accordingly, we expect the newfound cross-platform compatibility for file transfers between Apple and select Android devices to persist for now.
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