Android

After a long wait, Meta this week announced the ability to transfer WhatsApp chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. The system uses Apple's Move to iOS app for Android phones, and can be initiated during the setup process for a new (or factory reset) iPhone. This article runs through the steps involved in transferring...

Since Apple launched AirTags, the company has been enhancing their security to prevent stalking using the Bluetooth devices. One of these enhancements includes giving Android phone users the ability to detect an unknown AirTag if it is close to them. ‌AirTags‌ are designed to play a sound when away from their owner and will also alert iPhone owners if there's an unknown tag nearby, but...

In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, you can enable anyone, even if they don't have an Apple device, to join a FaceTime call with you by creating a link to a FaceTime conversation that can be shared anywhere. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Using this new link facility, friends and family members who do not have an Apple account can log into a FaceTime call with you using a...

Though designed for iOS devices, Apple's Beats-branded Powerbeats Pro are also compatible with Android smartphones and tablets, so you can take advantage of Apple's wire-free tech even if you're an Android user or have both Android and Apple devices. The downside to using Powerbeats Pro with Android is that you do lose some functions, like Apple's unique H1 chip pairing features and its...

In just a couple of weeks, Apple is going to make it ridiculously easy for Android users to switch to iOS with an upcoming app alongside iOS 9 called "Move to iOS." It will give Android users the ability to wirelessly migrate contacts, message history, photos and videos, web browser saves, mail, calendars, and more. Until then, we have to do these things manually. Luckily, it isn't difficult ...

Though designed for the iPhone, Apple's AirPods are also compatible with Android smartphones and tablets, so you can take advantage of Apple's wire-free tech even if you're an Android user or have both Android and Apple devices. You do, of course, lose some bells and whistles like Apple's unique AirPods pairing features. AirPods work like any other Bluetooth headphones on an Android device,...

Blender's work on a native iPad version of its open source 3D creation suite has been shelved, according to the development team. Back in July, Blender revealed that it was developing for iPad, with an iPad Pro version of its desktop software coming first, complete with a fully-featured multitouch interface and support for Apple Pencil Pro. No release date was announced at the time. Now...

With the second iOS 26.4 beta, Apple and Google have started testing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages exchanged between iPhone and Android users. Apple started testing E2EE for RCS in the first beta, but the feature was limited to iPhone-to-iPhone communications with iMessage turned off. In this beta, iPhone users can send encrypted messages to Android users. iPhone users...

Google is expanding its cross-platform file sharing feature to additional Android devices, allowing them to transfer files to an iPhone using the AirDrop protocol. AirDrop support for Quick Share is coming to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold over the next few days. Google announced Quick Share compatibility with AirDrop back in November, but the feature was...

Feral Interactive has announced the release of Tomb Raider on iOS and Android. Originally released in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Tomb Raider has been fully rebuilt for iOS and Android. Coinciding with the franchise's 30th anniversary, this reboot of the console version includes the complete original campaign and all 12 DLC packs featuring extra upgrades, outfits, and a bonus...

Last November, Google announced a cross-platform feature that allows Google Pixel 10 and Apple device users to share files directly via Quick Share-AirDrop interoperability. Now, Google has confirmed that the feature is set to expand to Android phones more generally this year. "Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability," said Eric Kay, vice president of engineering for the Android...

A broad new smartphone test has found that Apple devices lead the industry for battery life, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max ranking as the longest-lasting phone tested and Apple tied as the top overall brand. CNET this week published the results of a large-scale battery-life comparison based on testing conducted throughout 2025 across 35 smartphones sold in the United States. According to the...

While the iOS vs. Android debate has been going on for nearly two decades, one lawmaker in Utah has taken it to the next level with a strange new twist. According to Utah news station KSL, Utah State Senator Kirk Cullimore (R-Sandy) has proposed a new bill that would designate Android as the state's official mobile operating system. It is a real bill that would amend an existing Utah law...

Starting with the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple appears to be laying the groundwork for carriers to be able to support end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and that news should actually have even bigger implications for the Messages app on the iPhone. In order to offer E2EE for RCS, iOS 26.3 or later would need to support RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which includes many iMessage-like...

With iOS 26.3, Apple is making it simpler for iPhone users to transition to an Android smartphone, with new built-in tools for transferring data. The new transfer tool allows an iPhone user to place their device next to an Android device to initiate a transfer process. With the two smartphones connected, users can opt to move over photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, phone number, and...

The simplified smartphone switching Apple and Google are adopting is an example of how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) benefits users and developers, the European Commission said today. Apple and Google are making it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, adding an option to transfer data from another smartphone during the device setup process. Apple and Google are...

Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...

The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android. The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...

Apple's Swift programming language is now being officially extended to support Android app development through the establishment of a dedicated Android Working Group within the Swift open-source project. Originally introduced by Apple in 2014 as a modern programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, Swift has since expanded to include official support for Linux and Windows. The...

In a new ad, Google says iOS 26 copies three Android features that have been available on Pixel phones for years: Live Translate, Hold Assist, and Call Screening. The video, part of the ongoing #BestPhonesForever series, shows an iPhone and a Pixel 9 Pro talking to each other on a fictional podcast. "I announced live translation for text messages," the iPhone says. "And it turned out...

Google today previewed the next-generation version of Android, which has an updated design language that's more expressive, and a range of new features. One of the main new additions is Live Updates, a feature that mirrors Live Activity on the iPhone. Live Updates lets Android users track progress notifications from apps in real-time, much like Live Activity. Google says that Live Updates...

Google this week targeted the upcoming iPhone 17 in an ad for the Pixel 9 Pro, mocking Apple's design plans and suggesting that Apple often copies Android features. The ‌iPhone 17‌ isn't released, of course, so Google's ad is based on rumors that the iPhone is going to get a horizontal camera bar at the back, which is a Pixel-esque design. Dummy models and mockups of the ‌iPhone 17‌ depict a ...

Apple recently updated its Move to iOS app that's designed for Android users, adding new features that make switching over from an Android to an iPhone quicker and more seamless. Cabled data transfers using an iPhone and an Android phone with a USB-C cable or USB-C to Lightning cable are now faster, and tips for using iOS are displayed during the migration process. Apple also says that...

Apple today announced the release of an Apple TV app for Android smartphones and tablets. The app is now available on the Google Play store. With the Apple TV app, Android smartphone and tablet users have a more convenient way to access the Apple TV+ streaming service, instead of having to rely on tv.apple.com on the web. Apple TV+ includes a variety of original TV shows and films, MLB's...

Google today announced the launch of Android XR, an operating system created for extended reality (XR) headsets and smart glasses. Android XR is Google's equivalent of visionOS, the operating system that runs on the Apple Vision Pro headset. Android XR is designed for the "next generation of computing," and Google has teamed up with Samsung for the operating system. Google is providing a...

Google today revamped its Switch to Android app for the iPhone and iPad, introducing a streamlined interface, a new icon, and changing the name to Android Switch as part of a rebranding effort to lure new iPhone users. The app is designed to make it easy for iPhone users to swap over to an Android-based device like a Google Pixel. It can transfer contacts, calendar events, photos, and...