Apple says it will make it easier to switch from an iPhone to an Android smartphone in the coming year as part of its implementation of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Anyone with an iPhone can already use a Google app to help switch to Android, but the process is still a headache for most users since Apple has until now declined to help port certain types of data.
On Thursday, Apple announced a new option would be available by the third quarter of 2025.
"Apple is developing a solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone," the company said without naming Android.
At the end of this year or early next year, the company also wants to make it possible to transfer data from one web browser to another on the same device. This would make it easier to switch from Apple's own Safari browser to Google's Chrome, for example.
Aimed at promoting fair competition, the EU's new law also provides for more level playing field among rival web browsers. The DMA is designed to stop companies from favouring their own services over those of competitors.
The stricter rules for large online platforms have been in force in the EU since Thursday. The European Commission has so far identified 22 services from six companies as so-called "gatekeepers" to which the new requirements apply, among them the US tech giants Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google's parent company Alphabet and the Facebook group Meta. The list also includes the video app TikTok from the Bytedance group, which originally came from China.
