HomeTechnologyApple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices

Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices

TechnologyFebruary 11, 2026
2 min read
Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices
It's getting a little easier to move from iOS to Android, if that's your thing.
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Apple has just released the latest major updates for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and all the other operating systems it released back in September of 2025. The 26.3 updates for these operating systems are fairly mild, focusing mostly on bug fixes and security patches, but Apple is adding a handful of iPhone features designed to make it easier to use third-party devices in Apple's ecosystem.

The first is a "transfer to Android" feature that will facilitate switching away from Apple's phones into the Android ecosystem. Apple offers to transfer "photos, messages, notes, apps, and more," as well as the user's phone number, but won't transfer things like Bluetooth pairing information or sensitive data from the Health app.

Whether third-party apps can have their data transferred is likely tied to the AppMigrationKit developer framework that Apple added in iOS 26.1. Apps using this framework can import and export data to and from other devices and also access and download content the app has stored in the cloud. Apple notes that AppMigrationKit only functions for transfers from an Apple device to a non-Apple device; Apple already has several systems in place for preserving and transferring data and settings when upgrading from one iPhone to another.

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Source: Ars Technica

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