Android to Android is the easy direction, which makes the failures more annoying: people expect a perfect clone and get 85% of one.
The four ways to do it
| Route | Cost | Needs new phone to be empty? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google backup and restore | Free | Yes (at setup) | Same-brand or any-brand, app data included |
| Manufacturer clone app | Free | No | Same brand, or a supported pair |
| Quick Share / file transfer | Free | No | Photos and videos only |
| Desktop transfer tool | Paid | No | Apps, documents, call logs, awkward pairs |
Route 1: Google backup and restore
Your Android phone has been backing up to Google already. During setup of the new device, sign in and choose to restore. Contacts, calendar, Wi-Fi passwords, the app list and much app data come back.
- Pros: nothing to install, works across brands, includes app data for apps that use Android's backup API.
- Cons: slow on large photo libraries, and apps that deliberately exclude themselves from Android backup (banking, some messengers) will not restore their state.
Route 2: The manufacturer's clone app
- Samsung → Samsung: Smart Switch over a cable is the fastest route in the category, and it even restores home-screen layout and settings.
- Xiaomi → Xiaomi: Mi Mover, built into setup, no account required.
- Huawei/Honor → same: Phone Clone over a direct Wi-Fi link.
- Cross-brand Android: Phone Clone and Mi Mover both read other brands reasonably well; Smart Switch prefers Galaxy targets.
What clone apps usually miss: third-party app login state, some banking app data, WhatsApp databases (they move the app, not the encrypted chat store), and anything stored in a manufacturer's private cloud.
Route 3: Quick Share for media
If all you need is 40 GB of photos and videos, Quick Share (or a USB-C drive, which is faster) does it without any migration tool. Do this first, then run the clone app for the small stuff.
Route 4: Desktop tools for the leftovers
When you need installed APKs, documents, call logs and app data across brands, a desktop tool is the reliable path:
- iReaShare Phone Transfer covers Android to Android over USB or Wi-Fi and lists twelve categories.
- Coolmuster Mobile Transfer is a one-window clone with a $35.95 lifetime licence.
- MobiKin Transfer for Mobile is explicitly built around app and file migration.
A five-step order that works
- Back up the old phone to Google, and copy the DCIM folder to a computer as a second copy.
- Note which apps hold data you cannot recreate — authenticators, banking, chat apps.
- Set up the new phone and restore from Google backup at the setup screen.
- Run the manufacturer's clone app over a cable for the rest.
- Open each critical app once and confirm the login state. Anything broken, fix it while the old phone is still active.
The WhatsApp exception
WhatsApp on Android backs up to Google Drive, and restoring on a second Android phone with the same number works — but only if the backup is recent and the app version matches. Clone apps do not carry the encrypted chat database correctly. See the WhatsApp guide for the sequence.
FAQ
Does a cable really beat Wi-Fi?
For volume, yes — typically several times faster and far less likely to drop mid-transfer. For a handful of contacts and photos, Wi-Fi is fine.
Can I transfer apps with their data?
Only partially. Android does not allow one app's private data to be written by another without root. Tools that claim "app data transfer" generally move the APK plus whatever the app itself has synced to its own cloud.
Will my old phone be wiped?
Not by any of these routes, unless you explicitly choose to erase it. Keep it as a rollback device for a week.