India, June 11 -- AirDrop was Apple's monopoly trick for 15 years. Not the camera. Not the chip. AirDrop. The invisible thread that bound Apple devices to Apple devices, and made transferring files appear effortless and instantaneous, even without the need for any setup - the file transfer that kept iPhone users loyal and Android users envious. That wall has fallen this week, on the OnePlus 15. And without Apple saying anything. With AirDrop support now appearing on the OnePlus 15, one of Apple's biggest ecosystem advantages is suddenly available beyond the iPhone.

Google's success comes from its own efforts to directly collaborate with Apple to add Quick Share to the existing AirDrop protocol. The outcome is that a supported Android pho...