Don’t bet on Apple making it easier for iPhone users to switch over to Android.
In a statement sent to BuzzFeed, Apple has denied a rumor that it was working on an iOS-to-Android switching tool. The rumor was first reported by The Telegraph, which claimed Apple was developing this tool after succumbing to pressure from European mobile carriers.
“There is no truth to this rumor,” according to Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller. “We are entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone, and that is going great.”
Why this matters: Muller might be on to something. In October, Tim Cook said in an earnings call that 30 percent of new iPhone owners had replaced an Android device.
Around the same time, Apple launched Move to iOS in conjunction with the public release of iOS 9. One of the Apple’s few Android apps, Move to iOS is devoted entirely to helping Android users migrate their contacts, calendars, bookmarks, email accounts, messages, and photos to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
The original rumor stated that Apple was creating a reverse iOS-to-Android tool to appease the concerns of European mobile carriers. The Telegraph reported that these companies thought iPhone users were locked into Apple’s ecosystem, thus increasing Apple’s dominance in the mobile industry. Why anyone would think Apple would voluntarily create a tool to lessen that dominance remains unclear.
Author: Oscar Raymundo, Staff Writer
Oscar writes about iOS, mobile culture and digital music. He also hosts 'The iPhone Show' from Macworld's San Francisco HQ.