Quick Share for Mac: why it doesn't exist — and what works instead
You can beam a file from a Galaxy to a Windows laptop in seconds. Point the same phone at a Mac and… nothing. That gap is not an oversight — and there are real ways around it.
Why there is no official Quick Share on the Mac
Samsung's Quick Share and Google's Nearby Share merged into a single Quick Share, and the official desktop app targets Windows only. There is still no Quick Share app for the Mac; only some recent Android phones (Pixel) can reach a Mac, through AirDrop. From other Android phones, Quick Share can send a QR-code link instead, which goes through Google’s cloud (up to 10 GB every 24 hours, with internet on both ends).
What the community built — and where it stops
| Option | Direction | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| NearDrop | Both ways | An impressive unofficial open-source project that speaks Quick Share on the Mac: it receives, and sends from the Finder’s Share menu. It works only on the same Wi-Fi, is not affiliated with Google, and can break whenever the protocol shifts. |
| LocalSend | Both ways | Free, open source, works well, and since version 1.18 it checks every file with SHA-256 (on by default). Both devices need the app, and there is no cable mode. |
| Cloud (Drive, Photos) | Both ways | Upload then download again. Hours for large batches, possible recompression, storage costs, and your files leave your devices. |
| USB cable | Phone → Mac | A private path with no network in between — if you have software that actually uses it well, which is where the Mac has been stuck since Android File Transfer died. |
Wireless or cable: both verified.
Quick Share's magic is convenience for a handful of files. But the moment you are moving a camera roll — dozens of gigabytes of 4K video — you want a path that checks every file: no cloud in the middle, nothing silently skipped.
ZiggSend is the Mac app built for exactly that: it lives in the menu bar, detects your Android when you plug it in (once USB debugging is on — its assistant walks you through it once), shows what's new, imports everything over the cable with “Import now” and verifies every file (SHA-256 when the phone can compute it, exact size otherwise) — corrupted transfers are discarded and flagged, never silently kept. It also works over your own Wi-Fi, in both directions and with iPhone. No file manager, no terminal, no account.