Apple has a “Move to iOS” app designed to make it easier to ditch Android and embrace the Apple ecosystem. Now, Google has released a new app on the iPhone maker’s App Store called “Switch to Android” so customers can have an easier time transitioning from iPhone to Android.

Switching from one Android device to another, especially from the same manufacturer, is usually a breeze. One can simply connect the two phones over the same Wi-Fi network or use a wired connection. Most of the data, including contacts, photos, apps, and app data, can be migrated in this way.

In comparison, it is quite a hassle to transfer all your data from an iPhone to a new Android smartphone. One usually needs to enlist the help of a cloud storage service like Google Drive to manually back everything up from the iPhone and then painstakingly restore it on the Android device. Since Android 12, things have become more straightforward because you can migrate apps, contacts, and media, but only over a Lightning connection. Meanwhile, Apple’s Move to iOS app has been around for over five years.

Switch to Android is available for iPhone users as an unlisted application. This means it can only be accessed only using a direct link. However, once installed, we discovered that the app runs perfectly fine on iPhone.

The app explains it will safely copy your “photos, videos, contacts, and more” to your Android device. Then, you need to scan a QR code shown on your new Android device during the setup process. This suggests the Android phone will create a hotspot for the iPhone to connect to. Once this connection is established, the data transfer process should begin. The App Store listing screenshots lend some credibility to this theory too.

An interesting detail to note is that the app will only transfer the photos stored locally on your iPhone. The ones backed up to iCloud will remain untouched. You will also be prompted to disable iMessage on your old iPhone so your friends with iPhones continue communicating using SMS. The last step is to migrate your iCloud data to your Google Drive. It has been simplified with a prominent Start request button that redirects you to an iCloud support page where you can “request to transfer a copy of your data.”

In summary, Switch to Android hopes to make the transition a painless process so even those who aren’t tech-savvy can complete the transition without assistance and data loss. Although it launched several years after the Apple equivalent, Google doesn’t say when the Switch to Android app will become widely available.