The tool will be exclusively available on Samsung’s latest foldable devices for a couple of weeks.
WhatsApp is finally bringing one among the foremost requested features to its platform: the power to transfer chat history between iPhone and Android devices.
The chat transfer tool will initially only be available on Samsung devices but expand to other Android devices within the coming weeks and months.
WhatsApp Will Finally Let You Migrate Your Chats from iPhone to Android
Right now, WhatsApp only allows you to transfer chat history between devices running an equivalent OS. So, for example, on Android, WhatsApp chat backups are stored in Google Drive, while on iPhone, they’re stored on iCloud.
WhatsApp announced the chat transfer feature between iOS and Android at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, where the latter unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3. Therefore the Galaxy Buds 2. aside from chats, your voice notes, photos, and other media files, also will be migrated as a neighbourhood of the transfer process.
Sadly, the transfer process doesn’t happen over the cloud. Instead, you’ll need a Lightning to USB-C cable to transfer your WhatsApp chat history from iPhone to Android. If you’ve got chat backups on both iCloud and Google Drive, WhatsApp won’t merge them. Instead, it’ll overwrite any existing backup during the chat migration process.
As TechCrunch reports, WhatsApp says implementing the chat transfer process was difficult since all WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted. Thus, the chat migration tool required additional work and a collaborative effort from WhatsApp, device OEMs, and other parties.
Initially Available on Samsung’s Latest Foldables
For a couple of weeks, the WhatsApp chat migration feature will be exclusively available on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3. it’ll then expand to other Samsung devices running Android 10 or higher before eventually being available for all Android devices. On Samsung devices, the chat migration tool will be integrated into Smart Switch, Samsung’s data transfer tool.
Samsung doesn’t bundle the specified USB-C to Lightning cable within the box of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Flip 3, so you will have to get one separately. Or, if you’re moving from an iPhone 12 to Samsung’s latest foldable, you’re in luck as Apple bundles a USB-C to Lightning cable with it.
It is also important to notice that for now, WhatsApp is merely allowing you to transfer your chat history from iOS to Android. There is no word on when—if at all—WhatsApp will allow you to migrate your chat history from Android to iPhone.
