Google and Apple Made It Insanely Easy to Switch from an iPhone to Android

We knew that with Android 17, Google would introduce a new Android Switch process that they said was a collaboration with Apple. This, at least in theory, would make moving from an iPhone to an Android phone incredibly easy, with more data brought over than ever.

Look, we were skeptical, but Paul Dunlop, who is the Product Lead for Android Onboarding and Android Settings, shared all of the details on the new Android Switch today and it sounds pretty awesome.

The new Android Switch from iOS to Android brings over more info, more settings, all of your messages, home screen setups, eSIM, and more.

Switching from iPhone to Android in Android 17

According to Dunlop, the new Android Switch is a “ground-up” new experience for moving from an iPhone to Android with Android 17. It should be faster, even with WiFi doing the transfers now.

In his recap, he shared that WiFi is the preferred method for transferring and there is “zero compromise” in this move. You can still move things via wire if you want, but wireless will always be easier, should it work as he describes.

Somehow, Google found a way to build this Android Switch functionality “directly into the core of both Android and iOS.” They also worked with Apple to develop new APIs for developers, so that if they decide to integrate the functionality into their apps, it brings over more data, securely.

What all is transferred now? We don’t have the entire list, but we have a pretty good one that includes all sorts of new items you probably wanted the last time you made this switch.

• Migrating of passwords, passkeys, WiFi, and alarms are included now
• Complete Messages migration, so SMS, MMS, RCS, and iMessage conversations will move over. This includes large family group chats, reactions, stickers, and threads. This also means your iOS contacts stay seamless after switching.
• Home setups move over now too, so your wallpapers, home screen layouts, and app placements come from iOS to Android.
• Additional pieces of data from Files and Folders, Calendar attachments, call history, encrypted RCS messages, and Apple Notes attachments and labels move over now.
• Google Accounts now automatically migrate and log you in.
• eSIM transfers happen without any manual steps and do so during initial setup.

Again, I fully questioned how big of an improvement this would be and I am shocked at all of this. This is awesome!

If you were ever looking to move from your iPhone to an Android phone, mostly a Pixel device, this should help you make that decision to do so. Having all of this info easily come over during setup makes life so much simpler.

This new Android Switch will rollout on Android 17 starting today to only a small percentage of devices (Pixel devices), but will then expand over the coming weeks and months.

Let us know if you see it!