Android has improved a lot over the past few years, and Google has made it relatively easy to switch from one phone to another. However, it’s still not perfect, so Android is preparing to address one of my long-standing complaints when migrating to a new Android phone: automatic login for all my installed apps.

Unlike iOS, you have to sign in to Android apps after transferring all your data to a new Android phone, making it a real hassle. However, Android is one step closer to fixing the issue with the announcement of the new Restore Credentials feature in the Credential Manager API.

As for how the feature works, when a user logs in, the app creates a restore ID associated with the account. These credentials can then be stored locally and in the cloud with Google Backup (optional). Once the user migrates to a new phone, the application can request credential restoration from the credential manager. Apps that support this feature will be automatically connected once the user switches to a new phone.

The good news is that since The Credential Manager API is part of Google Play Services. Consequently, this will not be limited to Android 16 or only new Android versions, but all Android 9.0 and above devices can use this feature.

The announcement reminded me of my old conversation with Paul Dunlop, Android product manager for onboarding and switching. He highlighted how Android can help developers in this regard, and it’s good to see the operating system finally implement it with the Credential Manager API.