One of Apple’s apps for Android has popped up on the Google Play’s store top downloaded apps over Christmas. Here’s why the “Move to iOS” app has launched itself into the top 40, and what it does.
Now that the holidays are wrapping up, first-time and returning iPhone users are unboxing their new iPhones and making the jump from Android to iOS.
Every year, iPhone sales see a significant boost as customers rush to buy Apple’s flagship smartphone in time to give as a gift. And, every year, Apple sees a slew of new and returning users migrate from Android to iPhone. Enough that the company created a dedicated Android app in 2015 to help streamline the process.
Previously, if someone wanted to transfer their data cross platform, they would often need to rely on far messier methods. This included relying on cloud services or often unreliable third-party services.
This year, CNBC reported that Apple’s “Move to iOS” app has made its way into the top 40 apps on the Google Play store. It is not terribly surprising — after all, many people are excited to set up their new devices, but not without ensuring all their files come with them.
Those looking to transfer data from their Android device to a new phone can download the Move to iOS app from the Google Play store. From there, it’s fairly similar to transferring data between two iPhones.
During the transfer, both the Android app and iPhone will walk you through the process.
When making the switch, you can transfer:
- Contacts
- Message history
- Camera photos and videos
- Photo albums
- Files and folders
- Accessibility settings
- Display settings
- Web bookmarks
- Mail accounts
- WhatsApp messages and media
- Voice Memos
- Call history
- Calendars
According to Apple, if they’re available on both Google Play and the App Store, some of your free apps will also transfer. In practice, this is hit-or-miss, as sometimes developers don’t name the apps exactly.
According to the Google Store page for the app, you’ll need to have Android 6.0 and up. However, AppleInsider suggests you update your device to the latest operating system to provide a relatively pain-free transfer. You’ll want to keep the devices plugged into power and near each other during the process.
