Apple and Google making nice

Hey y’all. Apple and Google finally introduced an easier way to transfer photo libraries between the platforms—and it only took about half a [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( [by Austin Carr]( Hey y’all. Apple and Google finally introduced an easier way to transfer photo libraries between the platforms—and it only took about half a decade to arrive. But first... Three things you need to know today: • TikTok says K-culture spending is set to [double by decade’s end]( • AT&T spilled the beans on its massive [data breach]( • Amazon’s Rufus AI shopping assistant is [now for everyone]( One small, overdue step In the coming days, if you’re an Android user considering switching to an iPhone, you’ll soon have a much faster method for migrating all your pictures and videos from one device to the other: On July 10, Apple Inc. and Google [unveiled a new tool]( that enables direct transfers from Google Photos to iCloud. That such a basic feature is only rolling out in 2024 shows just how siloed our digital lives have been. Critics have long worried that the more our personal data — photos, social media, music, messages and so on — are stuck inside one operating system, the harder it will be to switch to a rival platform, limiting competition. This particular collaboration only came about thanks to the Data Transfer Initiative, a non-profit organization aiming to build bridges between walled-garden ecosystems. DTI’s roots trace back to an open-source project founded in 2018 by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and other big tech players to enhance data portability. The going has been painfully slow. After Apple signed on to the project in 2019, two years passed before it introduced a tool for automatically porting media from iCloud to Google Photos. Then, another three years went by before Google announced the same data transfer capability in the other direction this past week. (And in this form it’s not even comprehensive, since not every Android user relies on Google Photos to manage their library.) DTI executive director Chris Riley says it’s unacceptable that years have elapsed between big rollouts. Part of the problem is that the project was mostly started as an informal open-source effort. It wasn’t until 2023 that the collective decided to help establish an independent 501(c) entity to support the work. “When things are a collaboration, things drop,” says Riley, a Mozilla Corp. veteran who joined the group that year. “Now there's somebody who's there to make sure that there's a buck-stop point, and that point is me.” Recently, I experienced the [absurd challenges of trying to leave the iPhone ecosystem]( to Android and found transferring my data a nightmare. In one instance, my request to Apple to transfer all 92,654 of my photos from iCloud to Google’s servers took 15 days to process — and ended up returning 92,654 errors, meaning zero images were copied. Savvy people at the time told me Apple and Google had scant incentive to make it easier to switch to a rival OS, and only did the bare minimum to avoid a public backlash. Apple and Google have long argued that they need to maintain tight control over content on their ecosystems, to enhance security and quality. Riley contends the incentives are changing quickly. For one, there’s an increased expectation among consumers that they ought to be in control of their own data. (“No company wants to look like the bad guy trying to trap users,” he says.) More significant, though, is regulatory pressure. Riley says the [EU’s Digital Markets Act for reining in tech gatekeepers]( has acted as “a really powerful catalyzing force.” The DMA imposes a variety of interoperability mandates, including requiring gatekeepers to share certain data not just with each other but with third-party services too, when authorized by users. Riley hopes that will level the playing field so there are intuitive mechanisms for users to quickly port, say, their photos to a cloud competitor or social-media upstart, which he believes DTI can be a resource for. Still, Riley says he only has two full-time employees, and they’re mostly focused on service-to-service data transfers, rather than some all-encompassing program to help users switch from a Mac to a Windows PC or Chromebook, and vice versa. One of their next launches, for example, is a tool for transferring song playlists between Apple’s and Google’s music services, which falls a tad short of helping users migrate all their iMessages to Android or WhatsApp. Ultimately, DTI is largely dependent on its members investing the engineering resources to build these sorts of services. Riley jokes that he wished they’d invest even a fraction of the amount in data portabilty as they are [plowing these days into AI](. “We’d get a lot more done,” he says.—[Austin Carr](mailto:acarr54@bloomberg.net) The big story The smartphone market is back to growth and accelerating, according to the latest figures from IDC and Counterpoint Research. The iPhone isn’t exactly thriving, but [sales have stabilized as the world awaits the launch of this year’s generation.]( One to watch [Cbiz Investment Advisory Services CIO Anna Rathbun joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on Bloomberg Television to discuss the state of tech markets.]( Get fully charged Elon Musk’s X is duping users with blue check marks, [EU says.]( Hacker who claims to have stolen call and text logs from AT&T said the mobile carrier [paid $400,000 to erase the data trove.]( Alphabet is in taks to acquire cybersec startup Wiz Inc. in [a $23 billion deal.]( A tiny Japanese startup offers an AI dating app [reminiscent of the movie Her.]( France’s Ligue 1 has chosen Dazn and Qatari sports broadcaster beIN for [a new five-year deal on broadcasting rights.]( More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Q&AI]( for answers to all your questions about AI Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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