I heard a story on the radio today about a protocol that is under development...

I wonder what that is, and who's developing it.

A big vendor like Samsung (which has the biggest share of Android phones) can afford to make tools to convert from other makes of phone, including from old versions of Android which are being replaced.

But if you fancy a phone from a smaller manufacturer - Uniherz say (because like me you think most phones are far too big), or Fairphone because you want a phone with a replaceable battery, that is repairable and will last - then you're never going to be able to transfer your data and apps so easily.

Apple, of course, will do everything they can to prevent you moving to a non-Apple product.