Samsung has rebuilt the way an iPhone hands its contents over to a new Galaxy, and the version shipping with One UI 9 drops the step that annoyed people most: you no longer install the Smart Switch app on the iPhone at all. Samsung detailed the changes in a Global Newsroom post on 25 August, alongside the eighth-generation foldables. The catch is in the footnotes, so start there.
Which phones actually get the new One UI 9 Smart Switch transfer
Samsung puts a hard eligibility line under the announcement, and it cuts in both directions — the phone you are leaving matters as much as the one you are moving to. Per Samsung’s own footnote, the upgraded iOS-to-Galaxy transfer method requires:
- On the Galaxy: Android 17 or later — in practice, One UI 9. An older Galaxy on One UI 8 or below uses the previous flow.
- On the iPhone: iOS 26.6 or later. Anything older, and you are back to installing the Smart Switch app manually.
- Region: available in regions outside mainland China.
Samsung also notes that exactly which data types survive the trip varies by the source OS, its version, and how the two phones are connected — so the list below is what the feature supports, not a guarantee for every pairing.
The AirDrop half is narrower still
The other half of the announcement is Quick Share gaining AirDrop compatibility, which is the more eye-catching feature and the more restricted one. Samsung’s second footnote says the “Share with iOS devices” capability is supported first on select flagship models, listing the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, Galaxy Z Flip8 and Galaxy S26 among them, with support planned to expand later. Samsung does not name the full set of eligible devices, and its announcement gives no dates for that expansion.
Worth being blunt about what that means for a reader on a One UI 9 Galaxy that is not a current flagship: you get the easier setup transfer, and you do not get the AirDrop interoperability that makes living alongside iPhone-owning friends easier day to day. Samsung is selling this as removing barriers between ecosystems; the footnotes say the barrier comes down first for people who just bought a foldable.
What the new transfer actually moves
Assuming both phones clear the version gate, One UI 9 widens the data set noticeably beyond the usual photos, messages, contacts, calendars and apps. Newly transferable from an iPhone:
- Passwords and passkeys — the single most useful addition, because it is the one that otherwise means re-authenticating into every account by hand on day one.
- Call history — previously a clean break when leaving iOS.
- Accessibility settings — meaningful for anyone who has spent time tuning text size, contrast, or motion settings, and who previously had to rebuild all of it from memory.
- eSIM information — so the line moves with the data rather than needing a separate carrier activation step.
Passwords and passkeys moving between platforms deserves a moment’s thought rather than a cheer. It is a real convenience, and it also means your entire credential set traverses a device-to-device link during a setup process most people rush through on a sofa. Do the transfer on a network you control, not hotel or airport Wi-Fi, and check afterwards which password manager on the Galaxy ended up holding them.
How the QR code setup works
- Power on the new Galaxy and begin setup as normal, choosing to bring data from another device.
- When the Galaxy displays a QR code, pick up the iPhone and scan it with the iPhone’s camera app. There is no Smart Switch app to download first.
- Approve the connection and let the two phones pair wirelessly. Samsung says the updated flow is specifically designed to avoid hunting for the right cable or adapter, though a cable remains an option.
- Choose what to bring across, then leave both phones alone until the Galaxy finishes organising the transferred data.
Once you are on the other side, Samsung’s pitch is that you can make the Galaxy feel less foreign by adjusting swipe gestures and home screen layout during setup, with its Good Lock customisation app going further for anyone who wants to rearrange the app switcher and home screen properly.
The honest caveat
Samsung’s announcement is a feature description, not a support document: it does not publish a rollout schedule, a full device list for the AirDrop feature, or a per-data-type compatibility matrix. If your iPhone is a version or two behind iOS 26.6, updating it before you start is the cheapest way to avoid falling back to the old app-based method halfway through setup. And if you are moving from an older Galaxy rather than an iPhone, none of the above changes anything for you — this is specifically the iOS side of Smart Switch.
