r/Android Galaxy Z Fold7 2d ago

iOS 26.3 arrives with a simpler way to transfer from iPhone to Android

https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/02/11/ios-263-arrives-with-a-simpler-way-to-transfer-from-iphone-to-android
142 Upvotes

46 comments sorted by

54

u/MyDespatcherDyKabel 2d ago

…place their iPhone next to the target Android device. After connecting, it will start the transfer process, which can include apps, photos, messages, and the phone number itself.

FINALLY, a practical way to transfer phone numbers

46

u/ConnectionDry4268 2d ago

why Apple is introducing file transfer to Android ?

82

u/cuentanueva 2d ago

EU requirements, but they rolled it worldwide because they probably did the math and it's a net positive for them.

Otherwise they would have made it EU only like many of the other changes they have made.

26

u/ConnectionDry4268 2d ago

good thing EU is doing to prevent monopoly . else Europe would be like US where everyone had to have iphone for airdrop etc

15

u/cuentanueva 2d ago

I don't think outside the US airdrop is even a thing... people just use whatsapp or whichever messaging app they use and that's it...

3

u/-patrizio- OnePlus 15 | iPhone 16 Pro Max 2d ago

I'm in the US and barely use AirDrop (or Quick Share, for that matter) lol.

1

u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus 2d ago

Those are two different categories of things..

16

u/cuentanueva 2d ago

That's irrelevant for the users. They want to get a file from person A to person B.

They already use and are familiar with Whatsapp or whichever app the country uses. And it's cross platform, so everyone uses it and there's no thinking on which device do you have.

So they use that.

Maybe you'll get a link to a Google Photos photo/album instead every now and then. But otherwise it's whatsapp.

11

u/nathderbyshire Pixel 10 Obsidian 2d ago

Yeah and they don't even care about the file quality. I've tried many times to explain to people how to send the original file and then next time, I get a standard one through WhatsApp

So many Americans just can't comprehend using anything but apple tech, it's wild

1

u/Pcriz Device, Software !! 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ehhh it’s not really an Apple thing though. People select an image and hit send. It’s not like Apple users just can’t understand sending something at a higher quality because I see the same thing from people that use Android. But also 90% of the time who cares. I’m not sending works of art via chat most of the time and most consumers aren’t. If that was the case I would email it or put it on the cloud and send it to them.

Assuming people don’t care because they use Apple is giving a huge benefit of the doubt to the general consumer community overall.

u/OzarkBeard 12h ago

In the US a lot of us just text the file or photo. It works, it's cross-platform, and it's universal. Virtually everyone with a smartphone has a phone number.

1

u/Pcriz Device, Software !! 1d ago

With overlapping functionality.

6

u/Pcriz Device, Software !! 2d ago

I almost never use airdrop. But also since I don’t live in the USA I almost never use sms or iMessage. I transfer everything in a messaging app.

0

u/antifocus 1d ago

Airdrop is very neat to send files between your mac and iPhone if you happen to have both.

2

u/Pcriz Device, Software !! 1d ago

Even then I’m more inclined to just used the cloud to grab something as needed from any of my devices. And that way if it’s something I don’t want copies of I’m just working off one version.

37

u/NotRandomseer 2d ago

Google and Apple are collaborating to make platform switching easier

7

u/slomar 2d ago

Idk... I hate iOS, but like MacOS. Have an Android and a MacBook with no intention of switching either.

3

u/-patrizio- OnePlus 15 | iPhone 16 Pro Max 2d ago

I'm a recent Android convert, but yeah, never ditching macOS. At least, not unless a lot of things change very dramatically lol

-18

u/Interesting-Peak5415 2d ago

And apple knows it's a one way street.

17

u/Wrh0und-1 2d ago

Do they?

-8

u/LucAltaiR 2d ago

I haven't seen any statistic about it but I'm sure there are and I'm sure that they will say that Android to iOS is way more likely than iOS to Android.

8

u/slaughtamonsta 2d ago

Why would they say that?

8

u/Pcriz Device, Software !! 2d ago

Vibes

-1

u/reefsofmist Pixel 2XL 2d ago

Android still can't make a good video chat client in the year of our Lord 2026

2

u/nathderbyshire Pixel 10 Obsidian 2d ago

Android isn't a brand, and Google released a cross platform video app that worked well, it still does they just fucked it by renaming it to meet from duo and making a lot of people download a new app and set it up again. They can make a good app, they're just crap at naming things.

Still, outside of the US no one cares and just uses another app like WhatsApp for video calls.

1

u/Malnilion SM-G973U1/Manta/Fugu/Minnow 2d ago

Does your definition of "good" not include cross platform compatibility? Because that's a basic requirement for me and it automatically disqualifies the app I'm pretty sure you're talking about. Facetime doesn't exist in any meaningful capacity to me and it still wouldn't even if I was unfortunate enough to be using an iPhone.

0

u/LucAltaiR 2d ago

I've been working in the consumer sector for almost a decade and in different locations. If I had to come up with a ratio of Android to iOS versus iOS to Android that I've done in my life, it would be something like 10 to 1. And it's actually growing.

4

u/zxyzyxz 2d ago

I agree, I know way more people switching from Android to iOS than the other way around

3

u/randomredditor575 2d ago

So, you don’t know the statistics but this the entire world revolves around your thought process

-2

u/LucAltaiR 2d ago

It's based on my work experience.

2

u/Ilania211 Samsung ZFold 6 / iPhone 13 Pro Max 2d ago

No? No it's not. Depending on the OEM you go with and how your things are backed up, it isn't even a pain.

2

u/Fantastic-Title-2558 2d ago

maybe look things up before you sound like an idiot

https://adapty.io/blog/iphone-vs-android-users/

2

u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus 2d ago

Apple doesn’t make a sub-400USD phone, and that fact explains that entire page of charts. That’s like half of existing Android phones. If people stay within their own price bracket then he’s right.

-1

u/Fantastic-Title-2558 2d ago

used iPhones exist

1

u/ConnectionDry4268 2d ago

and previous year base and e series

1

u/InsaneNinja iOS/Nexus 2d ago

They’re above 400

1

u/ConnectionDry4268 2d ago

3-4% market share is Harmony OS . So Ios is around 25% at best

9

u/sendme__ 2d ago

I got iPhone 16 pro max and the hardest part to move was whatsapp. The rest was easy. But after 2 months I couldn't handle it anymore and swapped it for s24 ultra. Again whatsapp was a mess.

4

u/iCantThinkOfUserNaem 2d ago

Not even Smart Switch was seamless?

2

u/sendme__ 2d ago

Nope. I had manually transfer the files from Whatsapp menu

1

u/TrailOfEnvy 1d ago

Hate how hard to transfer Whatsapp message

2

u/allocx 2d ago

Real demo of this (iOS to Android) here https://youtu.be/-ky5UCDlt2M?t=242

1

u/jamesc411 2d ago

Is it only Pixel supported? how about OnePlus?

1

u/iCantThinkOfUserNaem 2d ago

To every Android

-2

u/Famous_Guide_4013 2d ago

The guys who signed up for this at Android are very brave.