If you had an iPhone

Welcome to Android! You've transferred your contacts and data, right? Then let's talk about the differences between your old iPhone and your new phone.

Apps

Goodbye Apple App Store, hello Google Play Store. Play Store is now your default app store. Apps aren't compatible between iPhone and Android. However, many developers make iPhone and Android versions of their apps; if the app stores your data online, then you can switch with little effort. Just download the Android version from Play Store and log in.

Home screen

On your old iPhone, your home screen was far left. Now, your home screen starts as the center of five pages.

Your old phone showed all apps on your home screen. With your new phone, you can put shortcuts to your most important apps on your home screen for easy access. Or, find your full list by touching . This frees up room on your home screen for widgets, making your new home much more lively.

Widgets

Android and iPhone both have app icons, but Android also has widgets. Widgets are like mini apps on your home screen that are interactive or stream information to you. For example, widgets can provide weather updates or upcoming calendar events.

Notifications

Like your old iPhone, you'll see notifications at the top of the screen, which you can swipe down to review. But on your new phone, you can swipe them left or right to dismiss them. Also, drag down with two fingers instead of one, and you'll find the ON/OFF toggles for airplane mode, Wi-Fi, and several other important settings.

In the cloud

Your Google account is your key to cloud storage with Google. If you migrated your contacts to your phone, then you can see them from any device or computer by logging into Gmail. Your Google account includes apps like Calendar and Drive that let you work well with others. And it has apps that let you play too - access your photos, videos, music from any device when you log in with your Google account. Use Play Music to upload your iTunes library.

Cool stuff you couldn't do before

  • The Google app brings you just the right information at just the right time. Weather, traffic, transit schedules, even the latest scores come automatically, appearing throughout the day just as you need them.
  • Google Assistant uses what's on your screen to show you suggested next steps and related information. After you turn it on, touch and hold from any screen, then touch What's on my screen? for more options.
  • Install apps remotely. On a computer, visit play.google.com. Browse apps on the bigger screen and then install them on your phone from your computer.

Search

Search with your voice or your fingers. Search options are practically endless. Your phone can navigate, translate, calculate, get movie times, and more.