GOOGLE is reportedly making it faster for customers to transfer their data from one Android handset to the next.
It could have been another reason for customers to continue choosing Android over iOS, but fans are begging for a different transfer feature instead.
The company doesn’t want the process of setting a new phone to be sluggish any longer, and is actively working on building faster wired and wireless connections to carry data over.
Currently, the data transfer can take a while – whether you use a wired connection, wireless or through a Google One backup.
But code spotted by hawk-eyed AssembleDebug for Android Authority reveals Google is building a tool to transfer data between two devices using wireless and wired connections simultaneously.
Users will be able to choose whether they want to hit the gas on their downloads or not.
Take your time transferring data. I don’t care if it takes an hour… Just maybe transfer all the damn data so I don’t have to spend two hours setting all my apps up again.
Reddit user
Android fans, however, are underwhelmed by reports of the new feature, and say the speed never bothered them.
What does frustrate Android users, is having to log back in to all of their apps after they have been transferred to a new device.
“Not fussed about the speed, just get more of my app data transferred rather than having to setup a lot of apps again,” one Android owner wrote on Reddit.
Another added: “Take your time transferring data. I don’t care if it takes an hour.
Most read in Phones & Gadgets
“Just maybe transfer all the damn data so I don’t have to spend two hours setting all my apps up again, or realising Google Maps didn’t copy everything over when I start driving to a new place and don’t really have the time to deal with it.”
A third onlooker wrote: “The problem with the [Google] Pixel version of transferring all it does is point your new phone to the play store where it will automatically download the apps.
“No settings. No logins. Nothing else gets imported. So you spend two hours logging into everything.
“I just want to connect the cable and copy and paste everything like for like. Don’t care if it takes three hours.”
Take your time – just don’t waste mine
By Millie Turner, Technology & Science Reporter for The Sun
I’ve never heard anyone complain about how long it takes for their data to transfer from their old phone to their new one.
The giddy excitement of the shiny new device in your palm usually takes over as you watch the progress bar inch closer to completion.
What does grind people’s gears is what comes after your new device wakes up for the first time: logging back in to all your apps.
It’s frustrating, sure.
But ultimately, it’s time consuming.
Research shows that the average person has more than 80 apps installed on their phone.
And while we may only use a handful of them day-to-day, this only makes remembering the exact login credentials to our entire library of apps all the more exhausting.
I’ll admit, these Android owners may look ungrateful, but I stand shoulder to shoulder with them: we need auto-logins for transferred apps.
DATA LOSS FIX
The company may also working on a new feature to combat unforgiving data loss during migration – an uncommon, but possible, side effect of upgrading to a new handset.
Google’s Data Transfer Tool could soon offer a “Restore Anytime”, which would let users pull their photos, videos, text messages and app data from an old device after they have set up their new one.
Android owners are currently only able to migrate their data during the initial setup process, which, if it goes awry, can result in thousands of memories floating into the ether.
Must-know Android tips to boost your phone
Get the most out of your Android smartphone with these little-known hacks: