After getting my review unit of the Galaxy Z Flip 8, I did something I don’t normally do when switching from iPhone to Android: I used the updated Samsung Smart Switch app to transfer my personal data from my iPhone to the Android phone. This improved process has made it much easier to transition my habits and conversations, which is often a major problem when making change.
I regularly switch between iPhone and Android when reviewing devices, a process that is usually so cumbersome and likely to interrupt my discussions that I usually prefer to just set up an Android phone from stock or restore an earlier Android backup.
But as part of July’s Samsung Unpacked event, where the company revealed the $1,200 Z Flip 8 alongside the $1,900 Z Fold 8 and $2,100 Z Fold 8 Ultra, the company said its Smart Switch app now works natively with iOS 26’s new Transfer to Android feature. And compared to the old way – where you also had to install Smart Switch on an iPhone and hope that your data would pass through – this new process is significantly streamlined and transferred more than I expected.
Apple’s iPhone is now directly involved
It’s strange that the iPhone can now directly help me when switching to an Android phone, but direct support from Apple seems to be the key to transferring much of my data more easily than before.
As with many Android phone setup processes, after first booting the device, I selected the transfer from iPhone option. Historically, the next step was to wire phones with cable. Instead, Samsung asks you to open the Settings menu on an iPhone, select Transfer to Android, and a QR code scan connects the phones wirelessly.
On the iPhone, I chose to transfer only my text message history and app data, because information like my photos, videos, and contacts are already synced through Google services and will automatically appear on an Android phone. iOS then prompted me to continue the process from the Android phone, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8 started showing transfer progress as it received my data from the iPhone.
The process wasn’t completely transparent: after 15 minutes, I received a message informing me that the transfer had failed and that I should try again. Despite the warning, it had actually worked: my data had been transferred and the phone was already downloading the Google Play equivalents to my iPhone apps. Better yet, the home screen already had its apps organized similarly to my iPhone’s home screens and replaced apps like Apple Health and the Apple Watch app with Samsung equivalents. I needed to add weather and calendar widgets, but not having to rearrange my home screens saves me a lot of time every time I change phones.
I hadn’t finished the transfer yet. I wanted to take it a step further and try to convert the iPhone’s physical SIM card into an eSIM that could be transferred to the Flip 8. While last year’s Pixel 10 phones supported an eSIM transfer from iPhone to Android, most other Android phones didn’t immediately follow suit. I started this in the Flip 8’s cellular settings menu, which generated a QR code that I scanned on my iPhone to sync the devices wirelessly again.
I followed the instructions, but the first attempt failed, showing a note that I may need to contact my phone carrier. This turned out to be a temporary problem, as I simply made another attempt following the same prompts – and it worked! The phone number previously on the physical SIM card has been converted and transmitted to the Flip 8 as an eSIM.
Discussions will still require some work
The biggest complaint about switching from an iPhone to an Android phone is how it affects iMessage output, particularly group chats. Last year, my colleague, CNET video producer Carly Marsh, attempted to upgrade from an iPhone 12 Mini to a Motorola Razr and, to her horror, many of her group chats split into a billion side chats.
This new process made the transition from iMessage chats to RCS chats much easier, but I noticed a few issues. For one, the vast majority of my chat history has changed, including group chats with their funny nicknames (my friends recently hosted a group chat nicknamed after the reality TV show Love Island). The media in these discussions was less consistent: One of the first baby photos a friend sent me appears to have remained on the iPhone.
Samsung’s setup process emphasizes that you need to deregister your phone number from iMessage and FaceTime to avoid losing text messages, but I still missed some initial messages after switching the device. When a friend or group sent a text for the first time after changing phones, I didn’t receive it, although I received follow-ups.
Aside from these initial issues, RCS seems to work pretty well as an iMessage replacement, especially as features like encryption and improved multimedia message support between iPhone and Android continue to expand. And since I can now send text messages from the Flip 8’s smaller screen when it’s closed, it’s nice to just focus on processing those texts with this cover screen without lighting up a larger screen.
A much better transfer process, but it can be improved
I’d say switching from an iPhone to the Galaxy Z Flip 8 took me about 3 hours from start to finish, with much of that time spent waiting for the rest of my apps to download and logging into them to finish setup. This might seem like a lot of work, but compared to the horror stories where text message chains also exploded along the way, it was pretty simple.
We should see this process improved on more phones outside of Samsung’s new Galaxy devices. Android Community Engagement Manager Mishaal Rahman posted on Reddit a list of ways Android 17’s updated Android Switch should improve the jump from iOS to Pixel phones and other devices, with the eSIM transfer I tested being one of the newest features.
Hopefully, over time, some of these remaining bugs will be ironed out as this new process improves. For example, receiving a more nuanced message if the login process was interrupted but most of your data was transferred would be more useful than a note that the entire process failed and you need to start again. And there has to be a way to switch from iMessage to Android without missing any texts – that would be my top priority.
Mike Sorrentino
Senior Editor
Mike Sorrentino is a senior editor for Mobile, specializing in phones, texting apps, and smartwatches, obsessed with how we can get the most out of them. Mike also keeps an eye on the film and toy industry, and outside of work he enjoys cycling and making pizza. See full bio
