For years, switching from an iPhone to an Android device has been synonymous with headaches. Lost contacts, photos that didn't arrive, unconfigured applications, disappeared call history. The process was tedious, required specific app downloads and important data always went missing along the way. Well, Google has just closed that gap with a tool that promises to make the leap in less than a minute, wirelessly and without losing practically anything in the process.

Direct migration: from iPhone to Android without cables or apps

The news comes with Android 17, Google's new operating system that is already being deployed on some devices. According to hipertextual.com, the process is surprisingly simple: when you turn on your new Android phone, you only need to grab your iPhone, scan a QR code and the rest happens automatically and completely wirelessly.

Most importantly, it no longer requires installing any application on the iPhone. The system recognizes it automatically and begins the data transfer without you having to do anything else. Goodbye to unnecessary downloads, goodbye to Lightning and USB-C cables, goodbye to the chaos that synchronizing two incompatible ecosystems meant just a couple of years ago.

All your data travels with you: much more than photos and contacts

This is where Google has made an important qualitative leap. It's not just about transferring contacts, photos and call history—that was already possible—but now the tool copies practically all the data of interest that you had on your iPhone.

Among the automatic transfers are:

• Contacts and call history
• Photographs and videos
• Installed applications
• Application settings and personalised preferences
• Other data that previously required manual configuration

Especially useful is that if you have a service or application configured on your iPhone—for example, an email account with specific parameters—Google automatically reproduces that configuration on Android. You plug in the new phone and everything is ready to use from minute one, without touching a single setting.

Which phones can use this feature?

For now, distribution is limited. Google has begun rolling out the new tool on some Pixel phones—its own device line—and on the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. However, it's logical to expect that any phone launched with Android 17 or updated to it will also have access to this advanced migration function.

Of course, an essential requirement: the destination Android device must have Android 17 installed. If you're buying a new phone now, it probably already comes pre-installed, so it shouldn't be an obstacle.

Why this matters for iPhone users

For years, one of the biggest drawbacks to switching from iPhone to Android has been precisely the migration process. Apple users know their data is safe and accessible, but the jump to the competition seemed risky: what if I lose my photo history? What if the settings get lost?

Now Google has eliminated that psychological barrier. If you were considering buying an Android but were held back by the uncertainty of the switch, this new process significantly levels the experience. Not only is it technically viable, it's simpler than many expected.

Does this mean thousands of iPhone users will switch sides? Probably not all, but Google has just taken away one of Apple's most powerful arguments: the "golden cage" of a closed ecosystem that's hard to abandon.