What you need to know
- Google's Switch to Android app has appeared on the Apple App Store.
- The app walks the users thrhough switching off iMessage and copying their media from iCloud.
- The app appears to only be accessible via a link to the App Store entry.
There have been reports that a Switch to Android app was on its way to the App Store from Google, countering Apple's own Move to iPhone app on the Play Store. It seems the app is finally available for iPhone users to download (via TechCrunch) if they are looking to make the switch, that is.
The Switch to Android app appears to be a fairly straightforward application, taking users through a flow to move their data from an iOS device to any of the best Android phones. The process requires the users to scan a QR code that will show up on the Android device, after which the user will select the content they want to move over from the iPhone.
Once the data is moved, a screen will prompt users to deactivate iMessage to avoid any delays with texts. The final step allows users to request to have iCloud media transferred to your Google cloud storage, including Google Photos.
The Switch to Android app appears to have arrived with little fanfare, although Google may not be ready to unleash it to the world. There hasn't been an official announcement of the app, and for now, it's only accessible via a direct link to the App Store entry (our attempts to scan the App Store don't pull up the app in search results). That said, we were able to download the app but unable to go through the transfer flow. Google was not immediately available to respond to our request for comment.
Many OEMs such as Samsung already have their methods of switching between phones, such as the Smart Switch app. Google also has its own process, which requires either backing up the iPhone with Google Drive or plugging in both devices with a lightning cord. However, the new Switch to Android app should make everything relatively easy "without fussy cables." The only downside here is that the app doesn't appear to copy corresponding Play Store apps over to the new Android device.
