Apple has a new app, but it’s different from the majority of its other software efforts, because it’s found inside the Google Play Store. It’s called Move to iOS, and it was announced alongside the iPhone 6S, after being briefly teased at WWDC 2015 with OS X El Capitán and iOS 9.
Updated on 09-18-2015 by David Curry: Added new information on Apple’s licensing of the app from Media Mushroom.
The app lets Android users move over critical information, such as contacts, messages, calendars, mail accounts, and media, among other data from their Android phone to an iPhone. More interestingly, it also wants to rebuild your app library once you make the move from Android to iOS.
In other words, Move to iOS looks at the apps you have on your Android smartphone and gives you download suggestions for their iOS counterparts. If you have paid apps, their iOS counterparts will automatically be added to your App Store wish list. It shows that Apple is more aggressive than ever in its efforts to bring over Android users to its iOS camp, especially when iOS market share rose earlier this year where Android’s fell. Of course, most diehard Android users weren’t too pleased by the app.
To add fuel to the fire, Apple also did not build the app. Move to iOS appears to be a repackaged app from Media Mushroom, a UK-based software developer that created Copy My Data. Little bits of code found inside the app still have the ‘mediamushroom’ filename, confirming that Apple did indeed license the technology rather than build its own app.
We will have to wait until the Apple Music app officially lands on the Google Play store to really get a taste for Apple’s adherence to Material Design standards.
It’s out now, but not everyone’s happy
Move to iOS hit the Google Play Store, which could be considered enemy territory, on September 16. It’s a small, less-than-3MB download, and is compatible with Android devices running version 4.0 and above. It’s an innocuous utility app, but it has drawn considerable hatred from the Android-loving masses.
At the time of writing, it has gained a respectable 706 5-star reviews, but a far less respectable 2,736 1-star reviews. Some say they’re disappointed by Apple’s refusal to conform to Material Design standards, but the majority are using the reviews section to point our how much they dislike Apple the company, its products, and its software. In amongst all the bile, there are some interesting positive reviews, including one from a person who appears to be switching to Apple because Samsung refused to launch the Galaxy Note 5 in Europe.
The app will definitely help switch to iOS, but there are plenty of other things to consider if you’ve already made up your mind and decided to leave the Android camp. We have a guide that details how to make the switch without skipping too large of a step. In addition, you can check out our lists of the best iPhone apps and the best iPhone games to get you started on your journey.
