Google Drive can now back up iPhones to make Android switching easier

Google has updated its website that guides iPhone owners through the process of making the change to Android. But more importantly, the company is also adding a new feature to its Google Drive app on iOS: the ability to instantly back up your contacts, calendar, and camera roll and store it in the cloud. That way, whenever you buy a Pixel or some other Android phone, all your stuff will be waiting in Google’s various apps. It’s all automatic when done this way, as opposed to before when you’d have to upload this stuff from several different apps.

The new option is found in the settings menu under “backup.” Also it’s probably not very instant if you’ve got a lot of stuff on your iPhone; Google says it can take several hours in some cases, so you’ll want to have your phone plugged in and on reliable Wi-Fi during the process. The app must stay open and on screen, as well.

This is basically Google’s iOS answer to Apple’s Android app that similarly tries to ease the switching process. But Google Drive does a lot of other useful stuff, so the new backup utility is just a new addition to the list. Unfortunately, Google Drive won’t back up your texts or music library. For that, you’ll have to actually plug your iPhone directly into the Pixel or whatever Android phone you’re replacing it with. If that really seems like the right choice for you. The Google Drive update doesn’t seem to be out just yet. At least, I’m not seeing the backup feature in settings. But it shouldn’t be long.