Now that Apple has joined the giant smartphone party, it’s reaching out to Android users with a helpful migration guide.
The lengthy how-to article goes through all the things you might want to move from Android to iOS, including mail, contacts, calendars, photos, music, books, and documents. Each section includes multi-step tutorials on how to move content or otherwise make it available again on the new phone.
Apple does dance around one big roadblock, which is that new iPhone users can’t take their paid Android apps with them. Instead, they must re-purchase any paid apps that they want to keep using.
Otherwise, switching between platforms isn’t as daunting as it might seem, especially in the age of online services like Google Contacts, Kindle Books, Office 365, and Spotify for music. In many cases, moving your content is as easy as downloading an app and logging in with your existing account. But if there’s anything you want to add to the phone’s local storage, such as MP3s, photos or PDF files, Apple’s guide can be pretty handy.
Still, it’s not quite as helpful as the automatic migration tools that some Android device makers offer to iPhone converts. HTC, for instance, offers a transfer utility that brings contacts, messages, wallpapers and photos onto the new device, and Motorola’s Migrate tool will even move your iCloud contacts and calendar events over to Google. It’s easier to free yourself from any particular platform than you might think.
Author: Jared Newman
Jared Newman has been helping folks make sense of technology for over a decade, writing for PCWorld, TechHive, and elsewhere. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving money on TV service.