(UPDATE) – Apple has issued a statement to Buzzfeed, saying it is NOT working on an iOS-to-Android tool.
“There is no truth to this rumor,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “We are entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone, and that is going great.”
Apple is said to be working on a new app that would make it easier for iOS users to make the move to an Android device. (Yes, you read that right.) The app would streamline the process of transferring personal data to the Google operating system.
Data made available for migration with the application could include contacts, music, and photos, according to The Telegraph. There is no word on when such a tool would be made available, if at all.
The report, which cites an unknown “senior industry source,” indicates Apple initiated the project at the request of European wireless carriers to ease moving from iOS to Android, due to their fears that the difficulty of moving from iOS to a Google OS-powered device might discourage users from making the move, strengthening Apple’s hold on the users.
Apple has long bragged that more users make the move from Android to iOS, rather than vice-versa. Apple announced that the fourth quarter of 2015 saw nearly one-third of new iPhone buyers who replaced a previous smartphone came from the Android camp.
Apple has already released a “Move to iOS” app in the Google Play Store, which transfers personal information, including contacts, calendars, DRM-free media, and more, from an Android device to an iOS device.
