Apple said it plans to facilitate customers' transition to Android as a result of the EU's Digital Markets Act.
The iPhone manufacturer said it plans to add new data portability options, including making it easier to use the ability to transfer data from the iPhone to another non-company device, as well as support for alternative app stores, new working conditions for app developers in the European Union, and phone browser selection screens.
Apple says the solution is not yet available, though it is committed to having it ready by the fall of 2025.
The announcement came in a document detailing Apple's compliance plan with new EU law aimed at increasing competition in the app ecosystem by requiring Apple to loosen its grip on the App Store and iOS.
The company cleverly avoided the potential financial impact of the Digital Markets Law on its business by adding new fees for developers who want to switch to the rules of the Digital Markets Act, regardless of the developers' backlash.
Beyond the App Store, the law also addresses data portability. Apple updated its data and privacy site in order to allow users to export app store data to authorized third parties, the document says.
Users can now request to transfer iCloud photos to Google Photos or download various data collected by Apple apps, such as notes, calendar, contacts, maps, mail, Safari bookmarks, reading list, and more.
Apple says users can schedule daily downloads of App Store data for 30 days, or weekly downloads for 180 days.
Apple hasn't released much about the new project on the Android transition except to say that its solution helps other mobile operating system providers build better solutions to transfer data from an iPhone to a non-Apple phone.
Apple doesn't actually use the term Android in the document, although Google's mobile operating system is clearly the big beneficiary.
In addition, the iPhone manufacturer has indicated that another solution to export browser data to a new browser within the same device may be ready either later this year or early 2025.
Users can now use Google's Switch to Android app to transfer important content, such as contacts, calendars, photos, videos, messages and more, to an Android device, although they may lose some data, and users must disable iMessage to check if new messages have arrived on Android devices.
It's unclear if Apple's new solution might address these problems, as the company has yet to say what exactly it aims to improve.
aitnews