Google Drive Update Makes It Easier to Transfer iPhone Content to Android - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Google Drive Update Makes It Easier to Transfer iPhone Content to Android

by

Google Drive was updated today to make it easier for users to transfer their content from iOS devices to Android devices, Google announced. The company also published a new web page on the Android website detailing how it works.

googledriveswitch
Once a user downloads Google Drive from the App Store, they can navigate toward the backup wizard by going to Menu > Settings > Backup in the app. From there, users can choose to sync select contacts, calendar events and photos or everything. Google recommends that users backup when their iPhone is connected to power and is on Wi-Fi, as backing up can take several hours. Additionally, the Google Drive app must stay open and the screen must stay on.

When users sign into their Google account on their new Android device their content will automatically sync.

Google has tried to make it easier for iPhone users to switch to Android in recent months, packing in a "Quick Switch Adapter" with the Pixel, which quickly transfers data directly from an iPhone to a Pixel phone. While the Quick Switch Adapter only works with the Pixel phone, the Google Drive method will also work with non-Pixel Android phones.

iPhone users who want to switch to Android must turn off iMessage before they officially switch devices.

Google Drive is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

bopajuice Avatar
125 months ago
Now that I'm not tied down by my iTunes purchases with Apple Music being available x-platforms, the notion of jumping ship even just temporarily is becoming more of a possibility had it not been for iMessage. Such a shame I don't want to be the green bubble amongst my friends..
So your issue is with social acceptance?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheRealTVGuy Avatar
125 months ago
But then you have to use Android... yuck.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
All my friends and family expect me to be able to see all the silly stuff they send. Like the poster above expressed, it sucks to be the odd green bubble.
It's interesting how something like the color of message bubbles might matter for some.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aussiephil Avatar
125 months ago
Now that I'm not tied down by my iTunes purchases with Apple Music being available x-platforms, the notion of jumping ship even just temporarily is becoming more of a possibility had it not been for iMessage. Such a shame I don't want to be the green bubble amongst my friends..
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dan110 Avatar
125 months ago
I just might be using this some time next year or so.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
Yes they have. They are called Whatsapp, FB Messenger, Telegram, ...

Amongst my friends (Europe) nobody uses SMS (paid) or iMessage (too limited). Of all the reasons to stay with iOS, iMessage is the least of my concerns.
Here in the States, nobody in my circle uses Whatsapp or FB messenger, it seems. (Unless chatting with people outside of the country). The lock-in is that none of the iPhone users are going to install an app just to text with me properly, so we are stuck on iOS with iMessage.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

android iphone airdrop quickshare

Google Expands AirDrop Support to More Android Phones

Tuesday June 2, 2026 12:24 pm PDT by
Google today said its Quick Share feature that allows Android and iPhone users to exchange files with AirDrop is expanding to more devices. Quick Share is now available on the following Android smartphones. Samsung: Galaxy S26, S26+, S26 Ultra Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra, S25 Edge (new) Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra (new) Galaxy Z Flip7 (new) Galaxy Z Fold7 (new) Galaxy...
iOS 26 Glass Photos Feature

Apple Brings Full-Resolution iCloud Shared Albums to Android and Windows

Monday June 8, 2026 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple today announced an update to iCloud Shared Albums to allow friends and family on Android and Windows to join and contribute photos more conveniently, with support for full-resolution images. The improvement for Android and Windows users removes a notable friction point for mixed-device groups, enabling users outside the Apple ecosystem to participate in shared albums via iCloud.com...
RCS Feature 1

iOS 27 Beta 2 Adds Inline Replies to iPhone-to-Android RCS Chats

Monday June 22, 2026 12:06 pm PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 27, Apple added support for replying to a specific message in an RCS conversation with an Android user. You can now long press on a message to get to the option to reply, and it works the same way that it does with iMessage. iOS 27 also displays tapback/reaction emoji to images and videos properly. In iOS 26, it would use a text descriptor, such as [x loved...