Google to make it easier for users to switch apps from iOS to Android

Transferring data from one Android phone to another or one iPhone to another has never been an issue. Though, if you’re switching between the platforms, Apple does have an application in place to help you get your data to the other side. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with Android.

However, Google is now planning to change this and is said to be working on an app that will seamlessly transfer apps from an iPhone to an Android device.

By reverse-engineering an app called Data Restore Tool, which was recently published on the Play Store, good folks at XDA-Developers have been able to find strings of code which suggests that Google is indeed working on such a process.

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Found in Android 12 Beta 3, the SetupWizard triggers a Data Restore Tool which now guides users to download a “Switch to Android” on their iPhone from the App Store. It further askes the users to connect their iOS devices to the WiFi Hotspot created by the recipient Android device.

Theoretically, this is the same process that one needs to follow when transferring data from an old Android phone to a newer one or Android to iPhone. While the transfer between two Android devices happens seamlessly, we’re unsure of what sort of data can be transferred over from iPhones.

What sort of data can be transferred? 

From the report, it is pretty clear that the data transfer might only happen if the iPhone is not encrypted. Apple’s security protocols do not allow such data transfers from encrypted devices.

Moreover, once the process is initiated, Google might just install the apps that are present on the Play Store. Any app that is only available for iOS devices would not get transferred for obvious reasons. Also, it seems that Google might not be able to bring in the app data from iPhone.

WhatsApp, which is one of the most used cross-platform chatting applications, also gets a mention in the codes, however, users will have to rely on WhatsApp’s native “Move Chats to Android” feature which will be introduced soon. According to the code strings, the app will only offer instructions to help transfer chats to Android, rather than transferring them over.

That said, this is a beta app, hence, it is not clear if Google will introduce these features in the final build. Until this happens, users will have to either manually install apps on their Android device or follow the cumbersome process explained on the “Switch to Android” page. 

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