Apple to ease switching to Android smartphones from iPhones in the EU

Apple plans to build on existing third-party options for migrating data from an iPhone to a smartphone with different operating system

Apple is set to open up its iOS ecosystem in the European Union to comply with new laws under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In a document highlighting how Apple plans to comply with new rules in the region, the company announced that it plans to make changes to its user data portability offering as well. This essentially means that the company is working on improving migration solutions that help users transfer data between devices with different operating systems.

“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,” the company stated. Furthermore, the company said, third parties already offer the functionality of transferring data between different OS platforms and Apple plans to “build on those options”. The company added that it aims to make this solution available by fall, next year.

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In addition to this, Apple announced that it is also developing a browser switching solution for iOS devices, which will allow iPhone users to export and import “relevant browser data” into another browser on the same device. Apple plans to release this functionality in the public domain earliest by late 2024.

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Google already offers an iOS app named “Switch to Android” for transferring data from an iPhone to an Android smartphone. However, Google in its app support says that some data such as paid apps, browser bookmarks and miscellaneous files cannot be transferred to an Android smartphone from an iPhone. It is expected that Apple’s upcoming migration solution will provide an option to carry these data over to a new phone with different OS.