So you have decided to change the faith? Away with the iPhone, here with an Android smartphone! One step ahead: Apple users are spoiled in terms of backups and device changes, because both are no problem at the factory. Whether on- or offline, whether iTunes or iCloud: Complete backups can be made at any time by clicking.
When moving to Android these backups but little, since Google's operating system can do nothing with it. That's why you have to go detours, manually transfer data or rely on specialized tools. Some of these programs can read parts of the iOS backups, others try to copy the data directly from the iPhone. Similar to the move from Android to Android, we have not found a way to take over the entire setup including software, settings and personal data in a few simple steps.
Climbing Google Account
In full, an Android smartphone can only be used in combination with a Google account and Google services. Even on the iPhone makes sense: Mails, contacts and calendar entries of a Google account can also be used in Apple's own apps. Who chooses this way on the iPhone makes the move to Android much easier. When setting up the new smartphone, you only need to log in with your own Google account and at least find the above types of data on the device again.
If you're not afraid of the cloud, you can install the Google Photos app on your iPhone. If desired, the program then stores all captured images and videos in Google Drive. On the new Android device, they are available immediately after login. Small hook: The images are compressed again and are therefore not quite in the original quality. Google has also included in its Drive app for iOS, a backup feature that plays at least contacts, calendar entries and photos from the iPhone in the Google Cloud and this detour to the new Android system.
The other way round, this removal tool also works in principle: So if you want to move from an Android phone to an iPhone, you simply register the Google account on the Apple device under Settings / Passwords & Accounts .
Migration Apps
Some new, more expensive Android smartphones comes with a USB OTG adapter, mostly from Type-C to Type-A. The respective manufacturers provide a suitable migration app, which also works in combination with an iPhone. It is usually sufficient to start the app on the new Android phone and connect the iPhone via charging cable and adapter. After you have granted the access rights on the iPhone, the file transfer starts.
However, you can copy only a small part of the data lying on the iPhone: photos and self-recorded videos, music or audio files and messages (SMS and MMS). Apps and app settings, accounts, system settings and Wi-Fi passwords, bookmarks and all data stored in the iCloud can usually not be transferred.
Once you have decided on a new Samsung smartphone, Samsung offers the migration using the in-house app "Smart Switch" - during setup or afterwards. If the app is not on the device, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.
It does not work with devices from other manufacturers. In our test, it did not work in conjunction with a Galaxy Note 9 with Android 8.1 and an iPhone XS Max with iOS 12.1.1. Smart Switch can theoretically scoop the data from the iPhone to the Samsung phone via USB cable or pull it wirelessly from a backup stored in the iCloud. At the former option, the process in our tests broke down reproducibly. In the latter, Apple's two-factor authentication did not take our code.
Huawei offers a similar tool with Phone Clone. It must first be installed on the iOS device. Then the new Huawei phone spans a Wi-Fi hotspot that connects both devices. After all, contacts, calendar entries, photos and videos could be transmitted. Further manufacturer-specific solutions can be found in "c't" No. 2/2019 on page 78.
Purchased apps and subscriptions
Almost all popular iOS apps are now available for Android. Purchases are only valid for one platform and so you have to pay for the favorite applications again. For particularly expensive programs, it pays to contact the developers and ask them for an Android license with reference to their previous purchase. You have to write off in-app purchases.
If you are no longer using an iOS device, remember to cancel all subscriptions completed through the App Store that are not available on Android. The subscriptions can be found in the system settings under "iTunes and App Store"; Tap on the Apple ID in the top right corner and select "Show Apple ID" and then "Subscriptions" in the pop-up menu. Cross-system services like Spotify or Netflix continue to run smoothly.
WhatsApp & Co.
It becomes problematic with messages: Neither iMessage nor the chats of WhatsApp can be taken in a simple way with the other device. WhatsApp creates on the iPhone if desired online backups, but they are in the iCloud and can not be restored on Android. There is no corresponding Android app for iMessage.
Apple
The data stored in iCloud can be accessed with a browser
With Wazzapp but there is for 5.99 euros a WhatsApp specialized migration app. It uses an unencrypted WhatsApp backup locally on your PC or Mac that you create using iTunes. Then you have a rocky road in front of you on the Wazzapp desktop program creates a sqlite file and extracts the media. Among other things, an older version of WhatsApp is required as an APK file. In short, it's worth thinking about how often you actually read old chats before migrating your chat history.
Apple's own apps
While almost all Google apps and services are available for iOS, the other way around is not. Programs like Apple's own notes, reminders or messages have to be avoided, (usually more functionally rich) alternatives searched for and the data transferred manually. After all, you can access most of the data via a browser by navigating to the page iCloud.com. The interface is sluggish, but to copy documents, notes and contacts and download photos, it is enough. By the way, you can also remove the link between the account and the old device.
The change from Apple to Google means a lot of getting used to anyway and the complicated migration of the data does not make switching easier. If possible, you should leave the iPhone in the drawer a few weeks after the move without factory reset. Some data can not be accessed without access to the original device.