How to switch from Android to iPhone and iPad

Moving your photos, contacts, calendars, and accounts from your old Android phone or tablet to your new iPhone or iPad is easier than ever with Apple's Move to iOS app. Apple's first Android app, it hooks your old Android and new Apple device together over a direct Wi-Fi connection and transfers over all your data. While Move to iOS app transfers a lot of your data, it doesn't transfer your apps (as they're not compatible), music, or any of your passwords. Additionally, you can only transfer data from an Android phone or tablet to an iPhone or iPad running iOS 9 or higher. If you're on the newest iPhone XS or XS Max, you'll have no problem.

Products used in this guide

Apple's flagship: iPhone XS (From $999 at Apple)
Transfer your files: Move to iOS (Android app (Free at Google Play Store)

How to move your data from Android to iPhone or iPad with Move to iOS

Set up your iPhone or iPad until you reach the screen titled "Apps & Data".
Tap "Move Data from Android" option.
On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Store and search for Move to iOS.
Open the Move to iOS app listing.
Tap Install
Tap to accept the permissions request.
Tap Open after it's installed.
Tap Continue on both devices.
Tap Agree and then Next on the Android phone or tablet.
On your Android device, enter the 12-digit code displayed on the iPhone or iPad.

After entering the code, the Android device will connect with your iPhone or iPad over a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection and determine what data will be transferred.

It will ask whether you want to transfer your Google Account info (so that you can quickly log in on your new Apple device), Chrome bookmarks, text messages, contacts, and the photos and videos in your camera roll. Select everything you want to move over.

Your Android phone or tablet will transfer the selected data over to your iPhone or iPad and place the appropriate content into the correct apps. The two devices will disconnect and Android will prompt you to take your old device to the Apple Store, where they'll recycle it for free.

Once the transfer process is complete, tap on Continue Setting Up iPhone or Continue Setting Up iPad on your device and carry on setting up a new Apple ID or logging into your existing one.

Once the setup process is completed, you'll be prompted to log in to the accounts you transferred from your old Android device. Do that, and then you're good to go!

How long the transfer process takes varies depending on how much data you're transferring — especially if you were storing many photos and videos. We transferred roughly 400MB of files and it took about 8 minutes from starting to set up our iPhone to entering account passwords.

Our top equipment picks

These are the mandatory or core equipment selections. Optional or ancillary equipment will follow.

Apple's best

iPhone XS

The flagship iPhone most people should get.

The latest flagship iPhone from Apple is a solid iteration on the changes that originally appeared in the iPhone X, with Face ID, a beautiful OLED display, and an edge-to-edge display, powered by an even better custom chip and improved cameras.

$999 at Apple

The iPhone XS is noticeably lighter than its larger counterpart (the iPhone XS Max), and combined with its smaller size, it'll fit better in your pocket. Plus, it's just as powerful as the iPhone XS Max, making it the best smaller iPhone you can get.

Additional Equipment

Since you're likely new to iPhone, here is a quick list of fantastic accessories we think you will love!

Anker Wireless Charging Pad ($22 at Amazon)

Anker's wireless charging pad is a sleek, slim pad that offers 5W wireless charging for all wireless charge supported iPhones. It has a nice, subtle LED status light that pulses slowly while charging, making it less intrusive in your bedroom at night. It's simple, effective, and easy on the pocketbook

Spigen Kuel AP12T ($20 at Amazon)

The Kuel mount from Spigen is an inexpensive car mount that is one of the sturdiest and stable that I have ever used Its telescopic arm adjust to where you need it, and the head rotates, so you can view your iPhone in portrait or landscape.

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