Apple already has a tool that makes it easier to move to iOS, but it may someday have one to help you leave it too. At least that’s according to a report from The Telegraph, which suggests that pressure from European carriers may force Apple to develop a “simple tool” to ease the switch.
The newspaper reports that carriers are “concerned that only a tiny fraction of customers ever move off the iPhone, in part because of the technical hassle of transferring data.” Citing a senior industry source, it adds that Apple has “privately agreed” to develop what it calls a “simple tool” to help move data— contacts, messages, photos and the like—from their iPhone to an Android handset.
If he rumor’s true, it would be somewhat of a departure for Apple. Its walled garden is particularly well designed to make it hard to escape the clutches of iOS and while it’s happy to ease the process of arrival, it’s never actively helped anyone to leave. The weight of an entire continent’s carriers might be enough to twist its arm—but that still feels like a big ‘might.’
Update: Apple is completely denying rumors, according to Recode, that it’s trying to make it easier to switch from iPhone (naturally) saying it’s “entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone” via the Android app, Move to iOS.
Of course, Apple wouldn’t say the rumors were true even if they were true, but historically, Apple’s needed a little more persuasion—usually in the form of a lawsuit—in order to making switching to Android easier.