Google’s Pixel 9 family came with one unique feature in the Android world – the ability to copy data from another device at any point, even past the initial setup.
This will finally make it to other Android devices in 2025, Google has announced today. It will be part of a suite of improvements that Google is brining to the Android Switch experience.
Google says this will allow you to “check out your new phone first and transfer your data later”, so you can “quickly complete your initial setup and get your data when you’re ready”.
Whenever you do feel like you’re ready, you can initiate the post-setup data copy from Settings or the recently renamed Android Switch app which you can grab from the Play Store. And for those upgrading to a new Android from an old one, there’s now an express setup option, which transfers only the info that is stored on the device and none of the stuff you’ve already backed up to the cloud.
The new Android Switch experience “walks you through clear steps to get set up and to learn about the features on your new device”, Google says, since it knows “it’s important to be able to get your chats, calendars, contacts and more on your new device, including the nitty-gritty information like your Wi-Fi, screen lock and Google account”.
If you’re using a cable to go from an iPhone to an Android device, it’s now 40% faster to transfer your data compared to 2023, in a move that “saves hours for people who have a lot of data to move from phone to phone”.
