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Apple Debuts New 'Move to iOS' App for Android

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Apr 12, 2001
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Alongside the launch of iOS 9, Apple today introduced a new "Move to iOS" app for Android devices. The app, which is now available for download, is designed to help Android users transfer their content from an Android device to an iOS device.

With Move to iOS installed on an Android smartphone or tablet, the Move to iOS service is able to transfer almost all important data from the Android device to the new iOS device, including contacts, message history, photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail account information, calendars, wallpapers, DRM-free songs, and books.

movetoios-800x679.jpg

Using Move to iOS also helps users transfer over their apps to rebuild their app libraries. On the Android device, the app will compile a list of all the apps that have been downloaded from the Google Play Store or other sources. All free apps that have iOS counterparts will be suggested as immediate downloads, while apps that have paid iOS counterparts will be automatically added to a user's iTunes Wish List for purchase as needed.

Apple has created a support document that walks Android users through using the Move to iOS app. It requires Android 4.0 or later, a Wi-Fi connection, and enough available space on the iOS device receiving content.

First announced at WWDC, Move to iOS is Apple's most aggressive move towards encouraging Android users to switch to iPhone. By making it easy to transfer content, Apple is removing a lot of the headache associated with changing platforms. Apple has had a support document and a microsite designed to help Android users switch to iOS for quite some time, but this new app is a more comprehensive, streamlined solution.

Article Link: Apple Debuts New 'Move to iOS' App for Android
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/16/apple-move-to-ios-for-android/
Have Google made this deliberately difficult to find? Even searching "Switch from Android to iOS" on Google Play doesn't display the app in the results.
 
thekeyring said:
Have Google made this deliberately difficult to find? Even searching "Switch from Android to iOS" on Google Play doesn't display the app in the results.
Click to expand...
I'd imagine it's similar to the App Store, it's a new app, and usually buried until it's more popular and the search algorithm gives it higher placement.

Or.... google is being bad.
 
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My understanding is that it does not need a wifi network as the app will create an ad-hoc network, maybe even through Bluetooth. Has someone tried this yet?
 
jrlcopy said:
I'd imagine it's similar to the App Store, it's a new app, and usually buried until it's more popular and the search algorithm gives it higher placement.

Or.... google is being bad.
Click to expand...

Ah fair enough. That's a tough algorithm: Typing the exact name of the app and it still puts other apps first!
 
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Tiger8 said:
Great move! I have to ask the obvious question though, will Apple allow an iOS app called 'Move to Android'?
Click to expand...

No chance, it would be rejected by Apple as a breach of the App Store T&Cs (an app is not allowed to promote a non iOS platform)
 
thekeyring said:
Ah fair enough. That's a tough algorithm: Typing the exact name of the app and it still puts other apps first!
Click to expand...

Yes I searched Move to iOS and Move to iOS Apple, yet no show in 10 pages of apps.

However as I typed Move, Google Play offered "Move to iOS" as the 3rd highest auto-complete suggestion.
 
thekeyring said:
Have Google made this deliberately difficult to find? Even searching "Switch from Android to iOS" on Google Play doesn't display the app in the results.
Click to expand...
It's not deliberate, it's the lag time from publish to fully searchable as the new info makes it out to all the components that run the stores. The same happens on the App Store.

When I was last publishing apps to both stores a bit over a year ago, the lag time from publish to full searchability was usually 6-8 hours. Sometimes quicker.
 
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yg17 said:
No, of course not. I was kind of hoping Google would reject this for the same reason.
Click to expand...

Google review process allows much - to compete with Apple.

They ascribe to a protective precept of plausible deniability.

So, you can observe they will try their best to act like they never noticed the app.
 
Its already on google play store. Just search movetoios you will see in the last with Apple Inc. as devs
 
I didn't realize the phones had to "talk" to each other. I (incorrectly) thought Apple would just upload data to iCloud either in the correct format or in some compressed format where it would ask later if you wanted to import into the phone.

Gary
 
I just sent this jokingly to my coworker who has been an Android user for years and he said "You know what? This is actually great timing. We're thinking about switching and our plan is ready for an upgrade soon." And yes, he was being serious. Everyone else on our team has iOS stuff so he would fit right in. There are lots of Android users sitting on the fence who don't really have much brand loyalty. They just want a cool phone that works well. Some people just start off on Android because they got it for free when they were a teenager—and they continue to upgrade because that's all they know. But this app removes barriers to entry and just might pull over people who would otherwise continue to upgrade on another platform because that's what they do.
 
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I'm into Apple but you guys should know that search results with most/popular/relevant hits are not being updated instantly.. there's a cycle of it just like internet searches etc
 
I hope it doesn't require one of the latest Android OS as we have learned nobody has them installed currently :rolleyes:
 
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