For the Android-curious iPhone users in your life
There’s plenty of evidence that some Android users are leaving for the world of Apple, especially in the US, where services like iMessage reign supreme. That said, it’s not a one-way road. Whether someone’s on the hunt for more affordable phones or interested in foldables, Android remains a tempting OS, even for converts. Google wants to make it easy for anyone to switch from an iPhone to some truly great Android phones, and now, we’ve seen its app in action.
Last month, we learned about a new Switch to Android app in the works, designed to give iOS users an easy route to their latest devices. The app was finally uploaded to the App Store this week, though you won’t find it among Google’s other services. Switch to Android is currently unlisted, but you can grab it on an iPhone using a direct link. Even with it installed, we weren’t able to give it a full go — but it did deliver a preview of what to expect whenever Google decides it’s ready for primetime.
Upon booting up the app and accepting the terms and conditions, you’ll be met with a camera interface for capturing a QR code meant to appear on your Android phone. This section is the part of the interface we don’t have access to just yet — though by using the manual option, it’s easy to see that this QR code will create some sort of network connection between the two phones for transferring data.
By bypassing the first two steps — the second of which doesn’t appear at all — we can view the rest of the process. Google invites you to disable iMessage from your settings menu to ensure you don’t lose communication with your friends, a common problem for anyone jumping off the Apple ship. Finally, you’re given the option to copy your photos and videos from iCloud to Google Photos by using Apple’s data exporter. Once you’ve completed these steps, the app asks you to continue setup on Android.
It seems like a relatively straightforward process, though we’ll have to wait and see how complicated it could become once it’s actually usable. After all, moving from one platform to another often comes with plenty of hurdles and technical hiccups. For now, we’ll have to wait to see once the Android side of things goes live.
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