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Google has released a new app for iOS called “Switch to Android”, a counterpart to Apple’s “Move to iOS” app to move important user data from an iPhone to an Android smartphone.
Apple has been delivering its “Move to iOS” Android app since 2015, with the app built to help transfer data from an Android device to an iPhone with as little hassle as possible. On April 14, Google finally offered its own alternative, with “Switch to Android”, which allows users to migrate data away from an iPhone and onto an Android smartphone.
According to the App Store listing, the Switch to Android app transfers data including photos, videos, contacts and calendar events to a target Android device. All this is done wirelessly, rather than requiring physical cables.
The app also helps by taking users through important steps that they need to perform on their iPhone before switching away. This apparently includes tasks like turning off iMessage, as it can cause problems receiving messages on Android if it is not properly disabled.
As part of the process, the app can make a request to copy photos and video from iCloud, for transfer to the Android smartphone. The product list also says that the app will “ask you for a number of permissions so that your iPhone’s data can be moved to your Android device.”
It’s unclear why the app is suddenly available for download and use in the App Store, given the bitter rivalry between the two platforms, as well as the emergence over six years after Apple’s tool was released. It seems possible that Apple could have prevented the app from being listed in the App Store, but it is unknown if such an attitude was taken by the iPhone manufacturer.
The “Switch to Android” app is free, 39 megabytes in size, and requires an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 12.0 or later.