Apple and Google are cooperating to make it easier for users to switch between iOS and Android on phones.

It seems hard to fathom why these highly competitive companies would cooperate in this way but there are likely reasons.

They might see an advantage in making it easier for users to transfer into their ecosystem if they produce a highly popular, innovative device.

Users might be prepared to try the other ecosystem if they are less “locked in”.

That keeps competition healthy and allows the two phone makers to expand their user base. It also would be safer for users to use official tools to transfer rather than riskier third-party ones.

The issue surfaced today when the latest Android Canary build became available today, as reported by 9to5Google.

“A joint collaboration between the two companies aims to make transferring data between Android and iOS easier,” the report says.

“Google and Apple tell us that this will be available during the device setup process.”

The new Android tool goes live today on all Pixel devices with Android Canary 2512. The report says the feature was coming to a future iOS26 development beta in the Apple sphere.

The report says the Betas are not designed for general use. It says the transfer feature will come to Android Beta before its public launch.

That suggest we will see the Google version of the transfer tool available more widely than just Pixel phones.