Apple Launches Guide for Android Users Switching to iPhone

[rdlink]

no I will be switching back to apple, but if you own any android device you know how easy it is to get thing from it too your computer


really this guide is how to setup an iPhone it has nothing to do with if you had an android prior

I disagree with the blanket nature of that statement. I support a lot of iPhone users (900+ smart phone users. 87.6% are iOS).

If you ask the average iOS user in my user population how to access something on their iPhone from a computer, they won't know. If you ask the average Android user, they won't know, and won't care. Most (non-IT geek) Android users are on Android for one of two reasons:

1. Larger screen.
2. Perception of cheaper price.

By and large, Android adoption is fueled by people being upsold from their flip phone to a smart phone in a phone store, and choosing the cheapest one. Also it's the one that's being pushed on them with the hard sell by a carrier representative in the store who is being told by his employer to sell the Android devices, since they have a higher carrier profit, and allow the carrier to control more of the game. Carriers love Android, and would love nothing more than for Apple to poof off the face of the earth tomorrow.

 

[spectrumfox]

I've been an Android guy for awhile because, until now, there's just too many things Android has done better than iOS.

Now that iOS8 is FINALLY letting third party apps communicate with one another via Extensions, that alleviates one of the last major problems I had with iPhone.

The only pending issues I have are:

inability to set default apps for browser, maps, etc.
inability to set custom sound notifications for each app

I'm trying to think if there's something else...

 

[tdale]

Of course you can, and should. Apple is very capable of mistakes and is by no means infallible.

The lack of an open file manager is not something I miss however. I have a Mac and PC to manage files.

In Goodreader, that you can use for books, PDF, Video, you can create, remove, rename folders. So its the file manager within the app. I used to live in Windows Explorer, but if an app owns the files and the app has folder management, sorted.

 

[rdlink]

been a Mac user for years.. i don't need to learn it. i'm just saying that a lot of people genuinely don't like iTunes.. why is that so hard for some of you to accept? not everything Apple makes is the best way to do things.

iTunes is the worst music management app on the desktop. Except for everything else...

 

[Jsameds]

Touché Apple, touché.

 

[tdale]

I've been an Android guy for awhile because, until now, there's just too many things Android has done better than iOS.

Now that iOS8 is FINALLY letting third party apps communicate with one another via Extensions, that alleviates one of the last major problems I had with iPhone.

The only pending issues I have are:

inability to set default apps for browser, maps, etc.
inability to set custom sound notifications for each app

I'm trying to think if there's something else, but nothing else is coming to mind.

They will never be 100% identical feature wise. Check out Continuity and Handoff too, great stuff

 

[RedOrchestra]

This place has gotten weird over the past few years, mainly the high school fanboys who think corporations are a professional sport.

That's pretty funny, actually.

 

[the-msa]

Ummm with OSX you need the Android File transfer app which is buggy pice of ****.

Ummm no, i connect my nexus 5 to my Mac and it appears like an external harddrive. And I can comfortably move files, images, music and movies from and to the phone. As opposed to iTunes, which is a chore to use.

 

[iososx]

Is it really hard enough to need a support document for it? I mean, it was pretty simple when I made the switch a few years back... But I'm probably not representative of Android users, I guess.

Although completely unnecessary, this is another brilliant move on Apple's part. They're creating the illusion that Android is complicated. Since Google makes no effort to create a public image in the way most companies do, they'll continue to suffer the consequences.

 

[Mtmspa]

I've been an Android guy for awhile because, until now, there's just too many things Android has done better than iOS.

Now that iOS8 is FINALLY letting third party apps communicate with one another via Extensions, that alleviates one of the last major problems I had with iPhone.

The only pending issues I have are:

inability to set default apps for browser, maps, etc.
inability to set custom sound notifications for each app

I'm trying to think if there's something else...

Are those major issues? I find Apple Maps and Safari to be just fine. I don't like sound notifications so that is a mute (haha) point for me.

 

[spectrumfox]

They will never be 100% identical feature wise. Check out Continuity and Handoff too, great stuff

Definitely looking forward to Continuity.

i know Android and iOS will never be identical with features, but I don't see why Apple won't let us pick our own default apps for common tasks. What if I'm a Chrome kind of guy, or a Google Maps kind of guy? I would like to have those apps open by default instead of having to copy/paste data into them.

Oh well.

 

[mazz0]

Apple should make their own Android app for transferring to iOS.

What did they mean regarding using iTunes? Does iTunes support Android? If not, that might be a good idea.

 

[radiohead14]

iTunes is the worst music management app on the desktop. Except for everything else...

used to love iTunes when it was exactly just that... for your tunes. it was a no-nonsense music player. through the years, Apple insisted on cramming too much in it.

 

[Tycho24]

you should not need a guide when you plug in an android device to your PC or Mac it becomes an external drive allowing you to look in all the folders to transfer things from the phone to the computer unlike iPhone

Hmm...
Ok, & then just drag the apk files into iTunes to replace the apps?
Since you didn't tell me that I 1st need to save the contacts as a vCard & then tell me that I need an app to bring them into my iPhone, can you please describe to me where in my Android file structure these contacts are housed so that I can easily drag & drop them to my iPhone?
Try NOT to tell me in anything resembling a guide though... as you said "you should not need s guide".
smh

 

[spectrumfox]

Are those major issues? I find Apple Maps and Safari to be just fine. I don't like sound notifications so that is a mute (haha) point for me.

Well, they're major for me.

Apple Maps is cool and all, but I have tons of history in Google Maps. Same with Chrome, all my bookmarks are there because I use Chrome on my workstation.

Also, being able to pick my own sounds for notifications on Android is great. If I want Darth Vader to breathe every time I get a notification for Words with Friends, I can have it!

 

[jamezr]

Do I plant it in a shaded area? Should I live in a temperate zone? How often do I have to water it? What insects do I need to prevent it from? How soon do I get the pomegranates? What is the best time of year to plant it?

Great guide, though! Looking forward to Pomegranate 2.0!

Thats comes out next year...... Pomegranate 2s

 

[coolfactor]

i must say i find pathetic that apple didnt offer us that bought the first gen iphone a tool to migrate and 7 years later and they dont even seem to offer one now.

Migrate from what? There was nothing to migrate from back them.

hell they are not even bothered that you can migrate from different iphone versions.

Well, that just shows your level of knowledge. If you set up proper iCloud backups and cloud syncing of your data (mail, contacts, etc.) then migration is completely transparent from iPhone to iPhone. There's nothing to do other than re-entering your Apple (and other cloud) credentials, and your data will magically re-appear. I've been moving from Mac to Mac like this for 12 years.

 

[MentalFloss]

>implying people want to switch from Android

Of course some people want to switch from Android. Some people probably also want to switch from iOS to Android. I don't think there is any weird magic in either system that makes it impossible to switch.

 

[genovelle]

that optimism...

It's most likely in response to the thousands of calls and emails they have already received asking how to do so. I'm willing to bet a significant number of that 4 million were former android users.

 

[cdmoore74]

Nice job on Apple for doing this. When I switched from Android to iPhone for 30 days itunes was a pain in the butt vs. just plugging my phone into the computer and having full access to the file system. Because I could not tolerate it anymore I gave up on that crap and went back to Android. One does not need software when transferring content from an Android device to a computer. I can see how this would confuse a long time Android user so props for Apple to explain the agony to new iUsers.

 

[Mike MA]

Subtle move.

 

[TechGod]

Ummm no, i connect my nexus 5 to my Mac and it appears like an external harddrive. And I can comfortably move files, images, music and movies from and to the phone. As opposed to iTunes, which is a chore to use.

How the hell do you do that? If I connect my Nexus 4, It doesn't pop up as an external. I'm using Yosemite and KitKat 4.4.4 with USB debugging on.

 

[heisenberg123]

Hmm...
Ok, & then just drag the apk files into iTunes to replace the apps?
Since you didn't tell me that I 1st need to save the contacts as a vCard & then tell me that I need an app to bring them into my iPhone, can you please describe to me where in my Android file structure these contacts are housed so that I can easily drag & drop them to my iPhone?
Try NOT to tell me in anything resembling a guide though... as you said "you should not need s guide".
smh

you best be shaking your head if you think you can import apps to iTunes, your only allowed to put apps that apple wants you to put on your idevice

if you used an android your contacts and mail are in your gmail account, lucky for you apple allows gmail so you can easily bring your mail and contacts with you

PM me if you need more instructions

 

[MrCrowbar]

Gotta say, I'm glad I got an iPhone 5S after seeing the new ones. Not a fan of these big phones. At least I saved 200 EUR by getting last year's tech and got sold the old 4S. I only use 2 hands when I need to type fast or am recording a video.

However some of my die-hard android-lover colleagues are lusting after the iPhone 6 and asking me lots of iOS questions. It's fun telling them iOS doesn't have certain features because there's no need for that feature because it's only a workaround for a weird user interface on their phone. Also the iPhone versions of cross-platform apps all seem to look and work better on the iPhone, even Google apps.

I think it's a good strategy to offer a migration guides for newbies.
Maybe that U2 "gift" is there to familiarize them with iTunes and how you can sync it all over the cloud and listen to it even though it's not on the device itself. Might be hard to get your head around that at first.

 

[kerrikins]

>implying people want to switch from Android

Some people do. There have already been threads on here and on Reddit about it. People switch back and forth all the time...

Kudos to Apple for doing this to make things easier.