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,...

Android 17 includes a wireless native migration experience for transferring more types of data from an iPhone, making the process of switching to an Android device easier. Google says the upgraded method allows Google Accounts, passwords, Wi-Fi credentials, and eSIMs to be transferred. It also supports photos, videos, contacts, messages, and calendars, like the prior version of the switching ...

iPhone owners are sticking with the platform at a higher rate than a year ago, with new research firm CIRP putting iPhone loyalty at 87% for the first quarter of 2026. CIRP's latest quarterly survey found that just 12% of new iPhone buyers in the March quarter had come over from an Android phone, with the remaining 1% arriving from a feature phone, a different smartphone platform, or buying...

The European Commission today formally ordered Google to give third-party AI services the same access to Android device features that Gemini has. Europe's Digital Markets Act requires software makers like Apple and Google to grant equal interoperability to third-party apps and services, and the EC is enforcing it. DMA interoperability rules are why Siri AI won't be available in the European...

Google and Epic Games this week withdrew their joint motion to modify an injunction requiring Google to support third-party app stores in Google Play. The two companies abandoned the request after it became clear the court was unlikely to allow it. Google is now bound by a permanent injunction issued in October 2024 requiring it to allow alternative app stores on Android devices. In a court...

With the second beta of iOS 27, Apple added support for replying to a specific message in an RCS conversation with an Android user. You can now long press on a message to get to the option to reply, and it works the same way that it does with iMessage. ‌iOS 27‌ also displays tapback/reaction emoji to images and videos properly. In iOS 26, it would use a text descriptor, such as [x loved ...

Apple today announced an update to iCloud Shared Albums to allow friends and family on Android and Windows to join and contribute photos more conveniently, with support for full-resolution images. The improvement for Android and Windows users removes a notable friction point for mixed-device groups, enabling users outside the Apple ecosystem to participate in shared albums via iCloud.com...

Google today said its Quick Share feature that allows Android and iPhone users to exchange files with AirDrop is expanding to more devices. Quick Share is now available on the following Android smartphones. Samsung: Galaxy S26, S26+, S26 Ultra Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra, S25 Edge (new) Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra (new) Galaxy Z Flip7 (new) Galaxy Z Fold7 (new) Galaxy...

Android manufacturers are planning to adopt Apple's split launch strategy, releasing high-end and standard models in separate windows rather than simultaneously, according to the leaker known as "Digital Chat Station." The leaker made the claim in a new post on Weibo this week, saying the "Android camp may repeat this style of play" with Pro series and standard models launching separately...

Google held its annual Google I/O event today, launching new AI products and giving us a look at what's coming in the near future. Google I/O is Google's equivalent of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, and Google's announcements offer insight into what Apple is going to be competing with in the coming months. We've rounded up everything Google announced at I/O across its product...

Quick Share is already compatible with Apple's AirDrop feature on select Android devices, but Google says the feature will expand to Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and HONOR devices in 2026. Here are the devices that currently support AirDrop: Samsung Galaxy S26 series Google Pixel 10 series, 9 series, 8a OPPO Find X9 series, Find N6 Vivo X300 Ultra Google says the following...

Google today announced a new series of Googlebook laptops that will be built with Gemini at the core. Googlebooks will run software built on a foundation that combines Android and ChromeOS. Google says the new laptops are designed for Gemini Intelligence for a more personalized and proactive experience. Instead of a cursor, Googlebooks have a Magic Pointer that users can wiggle to...

Google today said it is introducing updated file sharing features that will make it easier for Android users to send files to iPhone users. Quick Share is already compatible with Apple's AirDrop feature on select Android devices, but Google says the feature will expand to Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and HONOR devices in 2026. On Android devices that are not compatible with...

Google today previewed Android 17, the next version of Android that it is bringing to smartphones and other devices. Android 17 includes multiple new AI features, and it comes about a month ahead of when Apple plans to unveil iOS 27 with new AI capabilities. Google is now calling the AI features on Android "Gemini Intelligence," branding similar to Apple Intelligence. Google said it is...

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and Android devices is officially available, Apple confirmed today. Support is included in iOS 26.5, which is now available to everyone. End-to-end encrypted ‌RCS‌ messaging is available in a beta capacity, even though it is in the launch version of iOS 26.5. The feature is available with supported carriers and will roll out over...

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and Android devices is coming in iOS 26.5, Apple confirmed today. The feature is listed in Apple's iOS 26.5 release notes. Apple says end-to-end encrypted ‌RCS‌ messaging remains in beta even though it is being released in iOS 26.5. The feature is available with supported carriers and will roll out over time, and for conversations...

Customers are more loyal to Apple than ever, according to a smartphone loyalty survey conducted by phone trade-in site SellCell. 96.4% of customers surveyed said they planned to stick with an iPhone for their next upgrade, and 3.6% said they would choose a different brand. That's up from 91.9% in SellCell's 2021 survey and 90.5% in 2019. Android users were less loyal to their brand, and are...

Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro is very likely to come in a new deep red color, claims a Chinese leaker, because the color is already being prototyped by Android phone makers. In February, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is testing a deep red finish for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Rumors of purple and brown finishes have also circulated, but Gurman believes those are ...

Apple tested end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages exchanged between iPhone and Android users in the iOS 26.4 beta, but Apple made it clear the functionality was not going to launch in the iOS 26.4 update. E2EE for ‌RCS‌ was removed before iOS 26.4 was released, but the feature is back in the iOS 26.5 beta as Apple continues testing it. In the Messages section of the Settings app, ...

Google today said that Android has set a new record for mobile web performance, making it the fastest mobile platform for web browsing. The newest Android devices have set new records on web performance benchmarks like Speedometer and LoadLine, which Google attributes to "deep vertical integration across hardware, the Android OS, and the Chrome engine." Speedometer simulates real-world...

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...