One UI 8.5 not having AirDrop is just ridiculous
Let’s be honest and call out Samsung for what this really is: Planned Obsolescence.
With the latest update rollout, it’s officially confirmed that the Galaxy S23 series is being left out of the new Google-backed "AirDrop compatibility" feature for Quick Share. Samsung wants us to believe it’s a "hardware limitation" or that it requires newer chipsets. But that is a complete lie.
Here are the facts:
The Hardware is More Than Capable: The S23 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, featuring the FastConnect 7800 subsystem. It fully supports Wi-Fi 7 tech, Multi-Link Operation (MLO), and advanced peer-to-peer networking.
The Technical Reality: Google's reverse-engineered AWDL (Apple Wireless Direct Link) protocol runs on Rust. It requires robust chipset-level firmware tuning to handle dual-identity scanning (Android + iOS) simultaneously. The 8 Gen 2 has plenty of horsepower to handle this without breaking a sweat.
So why is the S23 excluded while the S24 and S25 get it?
It’s not because the S23 can't do it; it's because Samsung and Google refuse to allocate the engineering resources to optimize the firmware for an older chip. They are intentionally gatekeeping a massive, decrease quality-of-life feature to force S23 users to upgrade to newer models.
We paid flagship prices for the S23, and the hardware inside it is still a beast. Being left in the dust just for artificial product differentiation is incredibly frustrating.
What do you guys think? Is anyone else planning to hold onto their S23, or is this the kind of anti-consumer move that makes you want to jump ship?