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Apple's First Android App Makes It Easy To Move To iOS

Mark Wilson writes: Apple has released its first ever Android app. No, there's not an Android version of Safari or anything like that, but a tool designed to simplify the process of switching to iOS. The predictably named Move to iOS will appeal to anyone who was persuaded to switch allegiances by the release of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, or indeed iOS 9. The app can be used to move contacts, messages, photos and more to a new iPhone or iPad, and is compatible with phones and tablets running Android 4.0 and newer. It works slightly differently to what you may have expected. Rather than uploading data to the cloud, it instead creates private Wi-Fi network between an Android and iOS device and securely transfers it.

7 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Quick poll by Coisiche · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rate the chances of a reverse app to assist migrating from iPhone to Android making it into the Apple store?

    I'll go with never.

    1. Re:Quick poll by thaylin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree, and in my mind that is what makes Android a far superior ecosystem, freedom.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
  2. Reviews by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I pre-ordered an iPhone 6S and I'm moving over from years of being on Android phones. I'm very interested in this app. I took a look at the review on the Play Store (which are mostly one-star reviews), and they all seem to be from Android fan boys about how switching to an iPhone will be the worst decision one can make. Other reviews seem to criticize the apps design scheme.

    These are phones, people. It's not a religion. These things aren't your children.

    1. Re:Reviews by thaylin · · Score: 5, Funny

      So the captcha requirement did not tell you that you were commenting as AC? Something tells me you are a perfect fit for IOS /snicker

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
  3. Politically correct by codeButcher · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Allegiance" is such a harsh-sounding word. I prefer "inertia-induced lock in".

    --
    Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
  4. Hotel Cupertino by njnnja · · Score: 5, Funny

    On the information superhighway, cool wind in my hair,
    Warm smell of Doritos, rising up through the air
    Up ahead in the distance, I saw a touchscreen with light
    My laptop's too heavy and my dumb phone sucks
    I had to stop for the night
    There she stood at the genius bar;
    I heard The Joshua Tree
    And I was thinking to myself,
    "This could be Heaven or this could be Siri"
    Then she swiped to unlock it, and she showed me the way
    There were hipsters down the corridor,
    I thought I heard them say...

    Welcome to the Hotel Cupertino!
    Such a lovely place
    Such a lovely interface
    Plenty of apps at the Hotel Cupertino
    Every other year
    Have to buy new gear

    Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
    She got a lot of app developers she calls friends
    How they code like some monkeys, in a shop filled with sweat.
    Some code to remember, some code to forget
    So I called up the CEO,
    "Please bring me my 'i'"
    He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 2009"
    And still those hipsters are calling from far away,
    Amber alert in the middle of the night
    Just to hear them say...

    Welcome to the Hotel Cupertino
    Such a lovely place
    Such a lovely interface
    They livin' it up at the Hotel Cupertino
    Alibis you bring...
    There's just one more thing...
    Selfie sticks now with bluetooth,
    Instagrams look like ice
    And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of the Apple device"
    And in the Apple store,
    Nobody ever feels fleeced
    They trade in all their old device,
    But they never pay the least
    Last thing I remember, I was
    Running for the door
    I had to find the passage back
    To the OS I was on before
    "Relax, " said the genius,
    "It is programmed to receive.
    You can check-out any time you like,
    But you can never leave!

  5. Re:Money in my bank account? by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The phone is expensive, no question, but my last iPhone lasted me 4 years and I expect this new one to do the same. I get support during those 4 years and I don't have to wait for updates. The resale value is really good, too. The cost of an iPhone is a lot less if you consider how much you can sell a phone that's still in good shape.

    But these are all trade-offs, and I won't pretend they're not. I get a lot of things that are important to me by buying an iPhone, but I trade off being able to buy a new, cutting edge phone every year because it costs way too much. If I want to sell it, I can, but I have to go through the ordeal of selling it.

    I *do* regret buying a 16GB phone (I thought I would be okay because 16GB was always plenty on my iPhone 4, even with a healthy music playlist), but streaming music and some smart cloud offloading definitely make this phone liveable, even with games and apps and podcasts. If there's one complaint I have--and that the Apple community and pundits have--it's that stupid 16GB tier.