Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is planning to rebrand the “Switch to Android” iOS app to “Android Switch.”
- The data migration app will also soon get support for iOS 18’s locked and hidden apps.
Thanks to the launch of the Pixel 9 series and the iPhone 16 series so close together, a few people will be looking to switch camps to see if the grass is indeed greener on the other side. Both Apple and Google have apps built for their competitor OS that helps users transfer their data to the new platform and ecosystem. If you are planning to switch from an iPhone to an Android, you’ll likely end up using the Switch to Android app on iOS. Google appears to be planning a rebranding of the app and could introduce some new features along the way.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Android devices with GMS ship with an app called Data Transfer Tool. This system app helps you restore data from your old phone. If your old phone is an iPhone, you will need an app called Switch to Android that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. This iOS app handles the data backup and transfer duties on the iOS side of the ecosystem, while Data Transfer Tool handles restoring that migrated data on your Android device.
We’ve spotted hints within the latest v1.0.667928924 update of the Data Transfer Tool that indicate a rebrand is on the horizon for the iOS app. Google could soon rebrand “Switch to Android” to “Android Switch.”
Code
<string name="ios_switching_app_title">Android Switch</string>We managed to activate the new name on the Android side of this migration process, as you can see in the screenshots below.
Further, Google is preparing to support iOS 18 devices for data migration. For this, Google is working on adding support for restoring hidden and locked apps, a feature that has been added to iPhones with iOS 18.
Code
<string name="fragment_app_picker_description_d2d_ios_v3_ios18">We found a match for ^1 of your iOS® apps. Some in-app purchases might not transfer. Locked or hidden apps can be transferred, but you’ll need to lock or hide them again after setup. By installing each app, you agree with its permissions</string>As you can assess from the string, locked or hidden apps can be migrated over, but users will need to lock or hide them again after setup. The process of locking and hiding apps can be different across Android UX skins, so users will have to be aware of this limitation.
The Data Restore Tool also has a new warning about transferring WhatsApp data. It advises users to ensure that WhatsApp isn’t locked or hidden if they want their old chats from their iPhone transferred to their new Android device.
Code
<string name="ios_whatsapp_message_ios18">Trouble scanning? On your iPhone, open WhatsApp, then go to Settings > Chats > Move Chats to Android. Make sure WhatsApp isn’t locked or hidden, or your chats won’t transfer.</string>iOS 18 will be released next week across Apple’s supported iPhone lineup, so it’s important for Google to build this support to make migrating away from iOS a breeze.
These features are not currently live in the Data Transfer app, but we presume they will go live very soon.
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