What you need to know
- Apple is testing an AppMigrationKit framework that will streamline iOS to Android transfers.
- This new framework allows application data to be transferred between iOS and Android.
- Improved migration systems for iOS and Android will make it easier to switch between platforms.
AppMigrationKit is currently in beta and is being tested alongside the beta versions of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1. Unusually, the AppMigrationKit documentation specifically states that this framework is not intended for use within the Apple ecosystem:
AppMigrationKit only supports migration to and from non-Apple platforms, such as Android. The system does not use the framework for migration between iOS or iPadOS devices. The framework also has no functionality in iOS apps running under visionOS or macOS on Apple Silicon. The framework ignores calls from Mac applications created with Mac Catalyst.
Apple Developer
The documentation specifically references Android, reporting that iOS devices will soon be able to transfer app data to and from the Google platform. Apple says developers can use AppMigrationKit to “export your app data on the device to another device running a non-Apple platform, or to import it from another platform, or both.”
In other words, the migration process will be accelerated when setting up a new Android phone with an iPhone. It is already possible to transfer apps between iOS and Android when setting up a new device, but individual app data stored on the device is lost. When apps start supporting AppMigrationKit and the features become publicly available, this will change.
Additionally, apps will be able to automatically download data stored in the cloud once the device-to-device migration is complete.
AppMigrationKit could become publicly available as soon as iOS 26.1 is released. It’s a sign that Apple and Google are working quickly to improve the migration process between their respective mobile platforms.
Apple is working on a “Transfer to Android” feature for iOS 26, and Android is similarly preparing a “Transfer to iPhone” tool. Part of Google’s effort to streamline Android to iPhone transfers were revealed in May 2025 via Android 16 QPR1 beta teardowns.
Google and Apple simultaneously developing better migration tools is great news for Android users. This will remove potential barriers to switching from iOS to Android, and vice versa.
