Apple and Google Launch Joint Android-iOS Data Transfer Tools

Apple and Google have launched a joint initiative to streamline data transfers between Android and iOS devices, integrating new tools directly into the setup process of their latest operating systems. The features, which support a broader range of data types and seamless eSIM migration, began appearing this week in an early Android test build for Pixel smartphones, with Apple planning to include them in an upcoming iOS 26 developer beta.

The collaboration aims to simplify switching between the two platforms by embedding transfer options during initial device activation, eliminating the need for separate apps like Apple's Move to iOS or Google's Switch to Android. Users will be able to migrate contacts, calendar events, messages, photos, videos, documents, WiFi networks, passwords, and even data from supported third-party apps. Transfers can occur wirelessly, and cabled options between Android and iPhone devices are now about 40 percent faster, according to Google. This builds on an eSIM transfer solution the companies introduced in October, which generates a QR code in iOS cellular settings to move mobile plans between iPhone and Android without carrier intervention.