Apple Isn't Creating Tool to Help iPhone Users Switch to Android

Over the weekend, The Telegraph published a questionable rumor suggesting Apple was planning to develop a tool to help iPhone users switch to Android to appease major European telecoms operators. Citing a "senior industry source," the site said Apple had agreed to create a feature that would let customers transfer contacts, music, and photos from an iPhone to an Android device.

The rumor gained enough traction to prompt Apple to step in and make a statement to Buzzfeed, clarifying that no iPhone to Android switching tool is under development.

"There is no truth to this rumor," Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "We are entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone, and that is going great."

As the Apple spokesperson says, Apple has been working hard to encourage Android users to switch to iPhone over the past few months, making the development of a tool to encourage the opposite nonsensical.

In September, Apple launched a "Move to iOS" app to make it easier for Android users to switch to an iPhone, and before that, the company debuted a trade-in program that allows Android users to trade in their Android-based devices to receive a gift card towards the purchase of an iPhone.

Apple's efforts have been successful, and Apple often shares details on the sizable number of Android users that have switched to the iPhone. During Apple's October earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that 30 percent customers who purchased an iPhone and replaced a smartphone in Q4 2015 had switched from an Android device.