Apple working on a ‘user-friendly’ way to transfer data from iPhone to Android

Ben Schoon | Mar 7 2024 - 9:35 am PT

Switching from one platform to another is never easy, but in some cases, it can be harder than it needs to be. But, in response to the EU’s DMA, Apple has confirmed it is working on a “user-friendly” way to transfer data from an iPhone to an Android device.

As a part of Apple’s “Non-Confidential Summary” of the DMA Compliance Report, the company goes over the changes that will be made to iOS to fit with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. One of those efforts, Apple explains in the document, is to improve user data portability between iOS and “different operating systems.”

Apple says that it is currently “developing a solution” to make it easier to transfer user data from an iPhone to a “non-Apple phone,” aka an Android phone.

Apple plans to make further changes to its user data portability offering. Third parties offer migration solutions that help users transfer data between devices with different operating systems. To build on those options, Apple is developing a solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone. Apple aims to make this solution available by fall 2025

The solution, first spotted by The Verge, is apparently slated for a launch around Fall of 2025, but it’s unclear exactly how it would work. From Apple’s description, it sounds like Apple is simply providing the tools for others, presumably including Google, to build their own apps for transferring data.

As it stands today, Apple currently has a “Move to iPhone” app on Android that helps users transfer their data from an Android device to an iPhone. Meanwhile, Google recently revamped how users can transfer their data from an iPhone to an Android phone using “Switch to Android.” That app, though, is pretty limited by iOS and cannot transfer data such as text messages, wallpapers, and chat history unless you use a cable and, even then, can’t transfer data including eSIM, files, passwords, or bookmarks from the Safari browse. If our understanding of Apple’s plans is correct, it sounds like Apple would be giving Google better means of access for transferring data using “Switch to Android,” but there’s no confirmation of that just yet.

Given Apple’s aggressive actions around the DMA, though, it seems safe to assume that this proposed tool could very likely end up being available solely in the EU.