How to switch from iPhone to Android (or vice versa)
At this point in the smartphone era, many of us are loyal to just one phone brand, but is the default always the right choice? Could there be a better mobile experience waiting for you on the other side of the Android vs iOS divide?
If you’re thinking about making the switch, we can answer some of the questions you might have about switching from Android devices to iPhones, or the other way around. The main takeaway is that it’s not as hard as you might think to change, but you need to think about it and do some research in advance.
Check the apps you use
If you’re a heavy Google user, switching between Android and iPhone is actually quite simple. You’ll find apps like Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Keep, and Gemini ready to wait for you on both platforms. And as soon as you log in, all your files are waiting for you.
If you’re an iPhone user who relies heavily on Apple apps, switching to Android is trickier. It’s not impossible, but it’s more difficult: Apple Music and Apple TV are available on Android, but that’s it. If you have a lot of data in apps like Apple Mail, Apple Photos, and Apple Notes, you’ll either need to export it to the Google equivalents or start over on Android.
The ease of exporting and importing depends on the application, although there are many tools that can help (see below). A move from iOS to Android is easier to accomplish for those invested in the Apple ecosystem if you still have an iPad or Mac that you’re hanging on to: you can still use all your Apple apps on those devices, and you won’t have to give up or export your data.
As for third-party apps, from Snapchat to Spotify to Netflix, the vast majority of them are now on both iOS and Android, so there are no major issues. You’ll find a few exceptions, including Overcast for iOS and Tasker for Android, so do an audit of all the apps you rely on to see how easy (or not) it is to switch.
Check the location of your messages
Messaging apps are probably some of the most important apps on your phone. It’s in these apps that you have heartfelt messages, photo and video memories, and all kinds of important information (from the addresses of your loved ones to the time of your next team meeting at work).
With a few exceptions, you can switch between the same messaging apps on Android and iOS, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Signal, and Telegram. Additionally, social media apps with messaging (Instagram, Snapchat, X) should work seamlessly on iPhones and Android phones.
You should always check the exact switching procedures for your email apps of choice to ensure everything is backed up and transferred successfully. WhatsApp, for example, offers specific guides for switching from Android to iPhone and from iPhone to Android, and taking all your conversations with you.
The trickiest change to make is moving all your SMS, RCS, and iMessage chats between platforms, but this is possible if you use the official tools from Apple and Google, which we’ve covered below. However, you can’t continue using iMessage on Android because Apple doesn’t offer an Android version of it, so you’ll have to move on.
Check where your files are
So that’s the apps sorted, what about your files? With the general trend towards cloud storage in recent years, accessing your data from any device is much easier than before. You shouldn’t have to worry about moving hundreds of locally stored files from one device to another.
We have already mentioned Google Drive, available on Android and iOS. Many third-party cloud storage services are also available on Android devices and iPhones, including Dropbox and Microsoft’s OneDrive. With these services, just log in on your new device and all your files are there.
The scenario that will give you the most problems is if you use an iPhone, you have everything in iCloud and you want to switch to Android. Your best bet here is to use a Windows or macOS laptop to download all your files from Apple’s cloud storage and upload them to Google Drive. It’s not particularly difficult, but it will take some time.
For photos and videos in particular, Apple and Google have teamed up to make switching between their two services relatively simple. Google has instructions for switching from Apple Photos to Google Photos, and Apple has instructions for going the other way. Most file transfers are handled automatically.
We’ve already mentioned them briefly, but both Apple and Google have official switching tools to make switching from Android to iOS or iOS to Android as easy as possible. These tools will take care of much of what you need to transfer, including files, contacts, messages, photos, and videos.
Android Switch is Google’s official iOS switching app for switching from iPhone to Android phone. It works wirelessly, but if you have a cable with which you can connect the two handsets, you can transfer more data, including your conversations from iMessage and even your Apple Notes. Just follow the app instructions.
Not to be outdone, Apple offers Move to iOS for Android, which will get you to an iPhone with as little hassle as possible. This app is capable of managing data including contacts, photos and videos, as well as your messages, and you can select the types of data you want to move during the setup phase.
While you shouldn’t assume that switching between iOS and Android back and forth will be smooth, it’s certainly a lot easier than it was a few years ago, and you’ll be able to move much of your apps and data around without pain. And if you think you might want to trade again in the future, it’s best to stick to an app and file ecosystem other than Apple’s.
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