Google has been working for a long time on a new platform to make the transition from iOS to Android as easy as possible. The Switch to Android app is intended to automate the process as far as possible and is in the starting blocks as a counterpart to apple’s “Move to iOS” product. Now Google has unlocked the app in the Apple App Store and will probably launch the platform in a few weeks.
The change of ecosystem is probably not as common today as it was a few years ago, but it is still a topic that should not be underestimated for both Google and Apple. Apple has had the “Move to iOS” app in its portfolio for five years (!) and it should take half a decade for Google to have an answer. And this is rather disappointing because the range of functions of the now unlocked app is modest.
The new Switch to Android app is already in the Apple App Store and has thus been nodded off by Apple – which is already a very big hurdle that has been overcome. So far, the app is still unlisted, but with the direct link, it can be called up and installed. Unfortunately, it can hardly be used without its counterpart under Android, because a connection between the two smartphones must be established.
The counterpart in the Play Store will probably hold Google back until the platform is officially launched. In your own store, this is not a problem, but with Apple, it is beyond your own power and you want to make sure by the early deployment that the app is actually ready for launch and can be used.
With Google’s Switch to Android app, you can quickly, securely and wirelessly transfer your most important data types – photos, videos, contacts and calendar appointments – to a new Android device.
The app also tells you other important steps to set up your device, such as disabling iMessage so you don’t miss texting from friends and family.
The app asks you for different permissions so that your data can be transferred from iPhone to Android device.
As you can see from the screenshots and the description above, the app can be used to transfer all contacts, appointments, photos and videos. That was all. Very practical, no question, but nothing that you can not solve yourself in other ways.
The features discovered in the last two years, so long the app has been in development, have not made it: The transfer of apps (through a list of a Play Store counterpart maintained by Google), the integrated transfer of WhatsApp conversations or a deeper iCloud connection.
Maybe that’s still to come, maybe it won’t be tolerated by Apple. We don’t know, but the first step has been taken and it won’t be long before the platform officially launches.