Apple has launched its first Android app, and the name says it all, Move to iOS. It serves only one, Google-crushing purpose: to make it quick and easy for Android users to port their data on a new iPhone.
For it to work, both phones should operate under Android 4.0 and iOS 9.0, respectively.
The Move to iOS app allows you to take all your important data—phone numbers, calendars, Internet bookmarks, messages, pictures and videos—and have it wirelessly uploaded into the new phone with just a couple of taps. It works like this: After you set up the iDevice, a 10-digit code will be provided and must be typed into the Move to iOS app on the Android phone. The smartphones will establish a link through which you can transfer anything you want from one to the other. After the completed transfer, you have to provide email passwords to the iDevice so it can safely transfer the data as well.
Taking a look at Google Play Store's ratings, the feedback from users is a mixed bag. From a total of over 2,000 reviews, more than 1,700 have rated the app with one star, whereas +400 users praised Move to iOS app as a five-star offering. The imbalance is to be expected, as the Android versus iOS rivalry makes passion run higher than informed opinion. The truth is somewhere in between, as most votes come from the fan bases of Apple or Google.
"Apple's first contribution to Android and this is what they offer? Ridiculous. Google has dozens of apps in the Apple App Store, none of which attempt to move users away from Apple and into Android. This is like Walmart installing a kiosk inside Target that would replace a Target gift card with a Walmart gift card. Such practice is not acceptable. Apple has hit a new low," user John Holmes said, rating the app with one star.
"This is a smart move on Apple's behalf. The biggest pain in switching ecosystems is getting everything over to the next one," Zac Coffman, with his five-star rating, affirmed.
Everyone wants to own the best and newest phone, yet most users find themselves trapped in a brand fidelity shackle. One reason is that phones from certain producers are good and reliable, give value-for-money, or are simply hip. Another motivation to sticking with only one firm: the switch between operating systems can be daunting, as there are hundreds of different pieces of information to transfer safely.
There are already ways to switch from iOS to Android, so the Move to iOS app is the first step in closing the circle.
