In This Article
TL;DR
The pick: Apple’s Move to iOS app during initial iPhone setup is the official cross-platform transfer path. It moves contacts, calendar, photos, mail, WhatsApp, and other data over a private Wi-Fi network in 30-90 minutes.
Runner-up: if you’ve already set up the iPhone, individual data types have separate paths: Google account sync for contacts and calendar, iCloud sync for photos via the iCloud for Windows app, and so on. Less convenient than Move to iOS but possible.
Skip if: you only have a few contacts and photos. Then a manual export-and-import is faster than learning Move to iOS.
Android-to-iPhone migration
The cross-platform transfer. What actually moves.
Apple’s Move to iOS app handles most data types in one shot during initial iPhone setup. After that, individual data types each have separate paths.
Move to iOS during initial iPhone setup
Contacts, calendar, photos, mail, messages, WhatsApp, browser bookmarks, accounts
Typical transfer time depending on photo library size
The official path: Move to iOS
Apple's Move to iOS app is the only first-party cross-platform transfer tool. It runs during the iPhone's initial "Apps & Data" setup screen and copies contacts, calendar, photos, messages, WhatsApp, mail accounts, and browser bookmarks over an encrypted Wi-Fi peer connection. The Android phone's role is read-only; nothing is deleted from it.
Steps
- Update both phones to current OS versions before starting.
- Install Move to iOS on the Android phone (free, Play Store).
- On the iPhone, during initial setup, choose "Move Data from Android" on the Apps & Data screen.
- Open Move to iOS on Android, accept terms, and enter the 6-10 digit code shown on the iPhone.
- Pick which data types to transfer (recommend ticking everything; can deselect later).
- Wait for the transfer to complete. Don't unlock either phone or use other apps during the transfer.
- Once complete, finish iPhone setup and verify each data type appears.
After initial setup (separate paths per data type)
- Contacts and calendar: sign into your Google account on iPhone (Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account > Google). The contacts and calendar sync automatically.
- Photos: install Google Photos on iPhone, sign in. Your full library is available there. Or use iCloud for Windows on a desktop to download from Google and re-upload to iCloud.
- WhatsApp: see the dedicated transfer flow above (separate post).
- Mail: add the Google account again (same path as contacts).
- Browser bookmarks: if Chrome was your Android browser, install Chrome on iPhone and sign in.
- Apps: not transferable; iPhone apps come from the App Store separately. Most apps that exist on both platforms maintain account-level state across them, so signing in restores most data.
What doesn't transfer
Sideloaded Android apps (no equivalent on iPhone), Google Pay tokens (must be re-added on iPhone via Apple Pay), most app-specific saved data outside the cloud-syncing apps, and Android-specific automations (Tasker, Bixby Routines, etc.).
Verdict
Use Move to iOS during initial iPhone setup. It's the path Apple supports and the most comprehensive single-shot transfer. After setup, each data type has its own path; mostly cloud-account-based and straightforward. Plan for a 2-hour total time investment if you have a substantial library.
