Guide
Moving files from Android to a Mac without a cable
There is still no Quick Share app for the Mac, but there are more ways round that than ever. What each one needs, what it costs, and how fast to expect it to be.
If your phone is a Pixel 8a or later, or one of a growing list of Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor and Motorola models, Quick Share can now send straight to a Mac's AirDrop, with nothing to install. For any other phone, a free app does the same job over your Wi-Fi: NearDrop on the Mac, or LocalSend on both ends. Google Drive, email and messaging apps work too, for smaller things.
All of them are far slower than a USB cable. For a handful of photos that does not matter. For a phone's worth of video, it decides the matter. Here is each route in turn.
Quick Share to AirDrop
Google has no Quick Share app for macOS; its desktop app is for Windows. Since November 2025, though, Quick Share on Android can talk to AirDrop. It started on the Pixel 10. Google's help now lists sending to an iPhone, iPad or Mac from the Pixel 8a and later, and from certain Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion and Motorola devices. Samsung began with the Galaxy S26 series in March 2026.
- On the Mac, set AirDrop to Everyone, in Control Centre or in Finder's AirDrop window. Contacts Only does not work with Android.
- On the phone, open the photo or file, tap Share, then Quick Share, and choose the Mac.
- Accept on the Mac. The file lands in Downloads.
Google's Pixel help also describes sending to an iPhone, iPad or Mac with a QR code, for when AirDrop is not an option. That route uploads the files to Google's servers, encrypted, for 24 hours, so both ends need internet access, and it allows 10 GB every 24 hours.
Quick Share on the Mac: NearDrop and QuickDrop
For phones not on Google's list, two Mac apps make the Mac appear as a Quick Share target. Both work only when the phone and the Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- NearDrop is free and open source, an unofficial menu bar app. It receives from Android, and it sends from the Mac through Finder's Share menu, with the phone scanning a QR code. While it runs, the Mac is visible to everyone on your network. It is not notarised, so macOS asks you to approve it in System Settings > Privacy & Security the first time.
- QuickDrop is on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 12 or later. It is free to send and receive, but the free tier is throttled. QuickDrop+ lifts the limit for $3.99 a month, $9.99 a year or $12.99 once.
LocalSend
LocalSend is a free, open source app for Android 7 and later, macOS 11 and later, and most other systems. Install it on both ends, open it on both, and they find each other on the local network: no account, no internet, nothing leaves your Wi-Fi. Its Share via link option serves files to a web browser on the same network, for a device without the app. It is the simplest choice if you also move files to Windows or Linux machines.
Google Drive and Google Photos
Upload from the phone, download on the Mac. Drive keeps any file up to 5 TB as it is, but the free 15 GB is shared with Gmail and Photos, and every file crosses the internet twice, so your connection's upload speed sets the pace.
Google Photos can back up the camera roll by itself, and you download from photos.google.com. Check the backup quality first: Original quality keeps your files as they are, while Storage saver shrinks photos to 16 megapixels and videos to 1080p.
Email and messaging
Good for one file, poor for many. Gmail takes attachments up to 25 MB in total and turns anything larger into a Google Drive link. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp compress photos and videos by default. In WhatsApp, sending a file as a document keeps the original, up to 2 GB.
A Finder volume over Wi-Fi
The routes above all hand you a copy. If you want to browse the phone from the Mac, open a file in place or run rsync, the phone has to appear as a volume. On Android 11 and later, SideMount can do that over Wi-Fi: you pair the phone once with Android's wireless debugging, typing a six digit code, and from then on it mounts in Finder whenever it is on the same network with wireless debugging on. Pairing Android's wireless debugging with a Mac walks through it. MacDroid also has a Wi-Fi mode.
It shares the limit of everything else on this page: in our measurements, a phone mounted over our home Wi-Fi moved about 13 to 18 MB/s, against 270 to 280 MB/s for the same phone on the cable. It suits documents and a few photos. When you plug the cable in, the cable takes over.
| Route | Cost | Needs on the Mac | Which phones | Full quality | Needs internet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Share to AirDrop | Free | Nothing, AirDrop is built in | Pixel 8a and later, some other recent models | Yes | No |
| NearDrop | Free | NearDrop, unofficial | Any with Quick Share | Yes | No, same Wi-Fi |
| QuickDrop | Free but throttled, or QuickDrop+ | QuickDrop | Any with Quick Share | Yes | No, same Wi-Fi |
| LocalSend | Free | LocalSend, on both ends | Android 7 and later | Yes | No, same Wi-Fi |
| Google Drive | 15 GB free, shared | A browser | Any | Yes | Yes, both ways |
| Google Photos | 15 GB free, shared | A browser | Any | Only with Original quality | Yes, both ways |
| Free | A mail app or a browser | Any | Yes, up to 25 MB in Gmail | Yes | |
| WhatsApp and other messengers | Free | The app or the web version | Any | Only when sent as a document | Yes |
| SideMount over Wi-Fi | $1.99 a month or $19 once, 7 day trial | The app, macOS 26 or later | Android 11 and later | Yes, files in Finder | No, same Wi-Fi |
How fast is wireless, honestly?
Slower than you would like, every one of them. The local routes are limited by your Wi-Fi: the router, the band, the distance and the walls. The cloud routes are limited by your internet connection's upload speed, and they move every file twice. None of them comes close to a cable.
A USB 2 phone or cable holds any method to about 20 to 40 MB/s, and over a USB 3 cable and port, large files move at well over 100 MB/s. So for a phone backup, a long video or a year of photos, plug in. How to check a USB-C cable on a Mac tells you which kind you have, and every way to move files between Android and a Mac covers the wired routes. SideMount does both, the cable and the Wi-Fi mount: download it for a seven day trial, with no card.
Questions
Is there an official Quick Share app for Mac?
No. Google makes Quick Share for Android, Chromebooks and Windows only. Since November 2025, though, Quick Share on the Pixel 8a and later, and on some other recent Android phones, can send to a Mac's AirDrop when the Mac's AirDrop is set to "Everyone". Unofficial Mac apps such as NearDrop and QuickDrop fill the gap for other phones.
Why does my Mac not show up in Quick Share?
Either the phone is not one of the models that can send to AirDrop yet, or the Mac's AirDrop is set to "Contacts Only", which Android cannot use. Set AirDrop to "Everyone" in Control Centre and look again. If the phone is not supported, NearDrop, QuickDrop or LocalSend work over the same Wi-Fi network.
Do wireless transfers keep full photo and video quality?
Quick Share to AirDrop, NearDrop, QuickDrop, LocalSend and Google Drive send the original files. Google Photos keeps originals only with "Original quality" backup. WhatsApp and most messengers compress photos and videos unless you send them as a document.
What is the best way to move a lot of files from Android to a Mac?
A USB cable. Every wireless route is limited by Wi-Fi or by your internet connection, and is far slower than a cable. Over USB 2, expect about 20 to 40 MB/s with any method. Over a USB 3 cable and port, large files can move at well over 100 MB/s.
