Switching from Android to iOS: how to have a smooth (or not so traumatic) operating system change

As a result, it happens that we have to change the phone and the operating system. When, for whatever reason, you switch from the personalized, democratic comfort of Android to that cozy nest that is iOS, the platform that supports iPhones, the process can give more than a headache.

It really feels like moving from home. Because despite the fact that they have lived together on the same planet for more than 14 years, the transfer of information, photos, texts, chats and applications from one system to another is not done with the fluidity and smoothness one would expect. Quite the contrary.

Switching from Android to iOS (and vice versa) can be a leap of faith for many. If we stop for a moment, a change in lifestyle translates into almost everything we do in front of the screen. Safe: The experience with most apps doesn’t change much between operating systems. But there are changes, and it is precisely in this change that the problems are generated.

But let’s go in parts. A few weeks ago, Apple was kind enough to offer me for a while the magnificent iPhone 14 Pro Max, the top of the range of its new family of smart phones, the review of which soon arrives in these same pages. From all points of view, it is an excellent device, bringing together the best of Apple in terms of mobile devices. Taking advantage of the refreshing changes brought by the update to iOS 16, the invitation was served on the table. Especially for me, who has been using mostly Android devices for nearly a decade.

Unlike updating a device with the same system – where content, data, contacts, apps and photos are quickly replicated from one device to another, with no more hassle than a brief waiting -, migrating from one platform to another has its setbacks. The dynamics are not yet reached so that it is easy and smooth.

For now, for Android users, it is necessary to download an application specially designed for this process, conveniently called “Switch to iOS ” (free, available on Google Play). But as the comments on the page point out, the transfer is slow, with several error messages and connection drops during the process. There are other apps to perform the same process, although they are paid and none of them have a very good reputation.

After long trial and error, only part of the content is finally transferred. Messages and SMS, some apps (not all), and some data, such as passwords and shortcuts. There was no transfer of phone history, for example, or contacts. But there is something that was particularly painful: the transfer of WhatsApp and its chat log.

I have never been a particular fan of WhatsApp. Among other downsides, it’s not very versatile and requires you to be anchored to a landline number. But we already know: the messaging application, now owned by Mark Zuckerberg and Meta, is the most used in the world, with more than two billion active users.

It is difficult for the moment for a miraculous mass exodus to occur towards Telegram, Signal or other messaging applications, which are more versatile, secure and dynamic, but still niche. Cannot be used natively on more than one mobile device, WhatsApp is a kind of anchor application. So your chat history can be considered vital content for many users including me.

In my case, the migration was a disaster because other than the contacts, everything I had accumulated over the years just disappeared. It wasn’t there. Even less my curatorship of stickers.

Why does this happen? In iOS, i.e. iPhone, WhatsApp backup is done in iCloud, Apple’s cloud storage service. For its part, in Android, the backup is carried out in its own cloud backup system, Google Drive, two huge platforms that ignore each other. They don’t look at each other, but it’s time they did. The bitter taste of having lost the conversations I still have. As a consolation, my relatives hastened to send me stickers.

Another tedious detail was re-entering the multiple apps that require a username and password to use. I thought passing information would have solved the problem, but no.

Fortunately, the solution in this case is not so complex. Just restore your favorite browser’s password manager and you’re done. Chrome and Edge and Safari (as well as other browsers) have their respective password managers, essential for smooth browsing. Pay attention to this.

Once the migration has been carried out and the environment more or less mastered, it is time to enter a system which, although it has obvious similarities with the other, is fundamentally different. For example, navigation.

Under Android, there are two ways to navigate between pages and applications: via virtual buttons – which are at the bottom of the screen – or via touch gestures. Personally, and for convenience, I’m more into navigation movements with my finger.

On iOS, on the other hand, navigation is hybrid. And there are times when catching the “x” to close something or return requires extra effort, especially if the model in question is large. Right there, you have to occupy both hands.

The notification theme will always be customizable, but it must be recognized that in iOS the display of these can be tweaked down to the smallest detail. While the specific per-app content customization that Android offers is lacking, in iOS the return is much longer.

Something I missed was the absence of my favorite keyboard, quick key property of Microsoft, which since October has ceased to be present in the Apple store, without much explanations For users. That’s a shame.

Now the native iOS keyboard works pretty well, although it’s an acquired taste as you get busier. If this does not happen, there are interesting alternatives, such as typing , Grammar or the same gboard from Google, which comes natively on Android.

However, my perception is that in iOS the applications and their functionalities respond to a much more intuitive use than in Android. Except those that were designed by Google, like its suite of office products. They work, yes, but you get the feeling that they lack refinement. Interestingly, Microsoft’s productivity apps have responded very well.

The differences in use with other everyday applications, such as social networks or messaging services, are rather few. Again, there are navigation details that vary and ultimately adapting to them is just a matter of getting used to.

Other details are the always useful physical button to silence the device -which is always present on the left side-, the native messaging application (unbeatable) and, admittedly, most applications generally look better on iOS.

Transferring photos and videos can be a huge headache. Fortunately, in this case there are several solutions. First of all, and it doesn’t matter if you’re going to change your device or operating system soon, it’s worth playing for a good cloud backup service. Be who it is. Thus, when a migration is performed, all documents, be it files, photos or videos, will be duly backed up for later retrieval and synchronization with the new device.

For any smartphone manufacturer, the camera is an extremely important and decisive section. It is not for nothing that it is one of the main characteristics that average users look at. And while Android has several high-end models that match or even exceed Apple’s goals, we also have to be fair and recognize the ease of its photographic system, its cameras and the editing tools they integrate. .

It’s not about a particular model but how the process of taking photos or recording videos is integrated into the system. Sharing and editing them at the moment is something more simple and intuitive on iOS than on Android. That’s disregarding the myriad of editing apps available, especially given the novelty of creation the lock screen now offers, which is delightful.

However, a detail: Android has many applications designed to explore the contents of a phone’s folder, as it could be done on a PC. In contrast, the Files app on iOS is much more limited in its possibilities. In fact, it seems to only be able to explore iCloud files.

This is what we could call the last mile of iOS. Because the communication between the brand’s devices is really perfect. Between Android and Windows there is also the possibility of bringing both systems to the working table, and it is true that, given the multiplicity of manufacturers — both computers and phones — there is no common link for other devices to communicate. Unless it’s the same brand.

In this sense, the synchronization between a Mac computer, an iPad and an iPhone is perfect, full of small details that really improve the experience, such as when copying a text on the iPhone it is possible to paste it on the Mac . can be done with photos and videos. As far as I know, it doesn’t exist on Android.

Ultimately, the iOS experience for strangers is good, cleaner, and even more intuitive. It’s hard to get used to at first, but adaptation is quicker than you think. It’s neither better nor worse than Android, given the drawbacks it has. Most importantly, Apple designs its system for its own devices, while Google has to do it for the rest of the industry. That’s 15% of global users versus 85. Switching from one to the other is choosing the niche over the mass. A bet or, as we said above, a leap of faith.

Still, if you’re considering upgrading to an iPhone, you need to be very careful about the removal service you use. And just as you pack up your fragile and beloved items before moving, here it’s handy to back up everything important to the cloud beforehand. For my part, I will stay here for a while, on iOS. Even if that means my WhatsApp chats and huge collection of stickers were lost like tears in the rain.