iPhone-to-Android switchers: WhatsApp can now transfer chat to new Pixel and Galaxy phones
If you're switching from an iPhone to a newer Android phone like Google's $899 Pixel Pro 6, you no longer need fear losing all your WhatsApp chat history when moving to a new device.
The WhatsApp iPhone-to-Android feature is currently available for all Samsung Galaxy phones and all Pixel phones, and will work with new smartphones that launch with Android 12.
To get started, you simply need to connect the phones using a USB-C to Lightning cable during the initial setup of the new Android phone. The Android device displays a QR code that can be scanned from the iPhone; this launches WhatsApp on the Android phone and then moves all conversations and media to the new device.
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This is a convenient feature for any of WhatsApp's 2 billion users who decide to switch from an Apple iPhone to an Android device.
Beyond the WhatsApp migration tool, Android 12 includes the ability for Android to automatically match and install the same apps from an iPhone via Google Play. This lets you bring SMS and iMessage history to the new phone, as well as photos, videos, contacts and calendar.
"So starting today, you can safely transfer your chat history and memories from your WhatsApp account on iPhone to Android. We worked closely with the WhatsApp team to build a new set of capabilities, all designed to make it easier to switch from iPhone to Android and take your WhatsApp history with you," Google product manager Paul Dunlop said in a blogpost.
This sounds like a refinement of a recent WhatsApp announcement concerning the transfer of WhatsApp history from an iPhone to an Android phone. However, that was only available to Samsung devices running Android 10 or higher. It also relied on a USB-C to Lightning cable for transfers, but couldn't transfer call history from an iPhone device to a Samsung device.
"If you're moving from an iPhone to a Samsung Android device, you can transfer your account information, profile photo, individual chats, group chats, chat history, media and settings. You can't transfer your call history or display name," WhatsApp said in its support notes.