Android 7.0 Nougat tells iPhone switchers how to migrate their data

Switching from an iPhone to an Android smartphone can be quite daunting, which is why two years ago Google created an online guide to help users migrate important data, like contacts, photos, and music. And it has left it at that, leaving it to iPhone switchers to find it on their own.

But, as you may know, newer versions of Android have made it easier for users to move their data from another Android device and now, with the introduction of Nougat, those wanting to migrate content from an iPhone or iPad are getting a dedicated import option too, while setting up their new device.

Android Police has spotted this addition in Nougat, reporting that the migration is still pretty much a do-it-yourself job. When tapping on the respective option at the Bring your data from... screen, users are taken to Google's online guide. It has the same URL as the one introduced two years ago, so clearly Google has not done much other than provide a link to it during the setup process.

So, if you want to switch from an iPhone to an Android smartphone you may as well go through all those steps beforehand, because this process involves quite a bit of manual labor on your end. You will have to export your contacts from iCloud to Gmail, if you want to do so, bring your music to Google Music from iTunes, back up your photos to one of Google's services, if you have not done so already, and so on.

This is really a shame, because if you are in the middle of setting up your new Android smartphone it can be quite annoying to be told that you basically need to do some things on a PC or Mac when all you want is to get it all over with. Maybe Google can put some effort into crafting a proper way to migrate data.