Taking your smartwatch and smart home to iPhone and Mac

When you switch to an iPhone or Mac, you usually bring more than a phone. There’s a watch on your wrist, lights you control by voice and maybe a Nest thermostat running the heating. In this part of the series Mac and the rest of the world I look at what keeps working with Apple, what half works and what you’re better off selling. Wearables first, then the smart home.

Smartwatches that don’t work with an iPhone

Let’s get the bad news out of the way, because it’s the short part. A Samsung Galaxy Watch does not work with an iPhone. Since the Galaxy Watch4, Samsung’s watches run Wear OS, and Samsung’s own support page simply lists “iOS: not supported” for the current models (Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra2). The Galaxy Wearable app in the App Store is only for older Tizen watches from a few generations back. The Galaxy Ring is Android only as well.

The same goes for the Google Pixel Watch. Google requires an Android phone for setup and doesn’t officially support the iPhone, including on the Pixel Watch 4. There is a third-party app that promises to pair a Pixel Watch with an iPhone anyway, but you need an Android phone once to get started and I couldn’t find an independent test showing how well it works. I wouldn’t count on it.

So in practice: if you own a Wear OS watch from Samsung or Google, it’s done once you move to the iPhone.

Wearables that do work with the iPhone

Most other brands have their own iPhone app and work fine. The difference with an Apple Watch is mainly in what the watch is allowed to do with your phone.

• Garmin: works through Garmin Connect. Notifications come in reliably, you can pay with Garmin Pay and Connect sends steps, heart rate, sleep, weight and workouts to Apple Health. Not the other way round: Garmin doesn’t read anything from Apple Health. Replying to an SMS or iMessage from the watch isn’t possible on iPhone, only on Android.
• Fitbit: since May 2026 the Fitbit app is called Google Health. As of version 5.05 it can finally send data to Apple Health itself, including workouts, sleep and steps. You have to switch this on under partner apps. Before that, you needed a separate app.
• Withings: the Health Mate app works well on iPhone and exchanges data with Apple Health. Especially handy for scales and blood pressure monitors.
• Amazfit: through the Zepp app. Notifications work and so does syncing with Apple Health, but the app feels less polished than Garmin’s.
• Oura and other rings or trackers without a screen: these are actually the easiest. They don’t need to show notifications, so you lose very little. Oura shares data with Apple Health.

What’s changing in the EU

Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple had to open up the iPhone to other watches. iOS 26.3 brought a setting in the EU called Notification Forwarding, which lets you pick per app which notifications go to a watch from another brand. That watch can then also act on those notifications. Two catches. It only works with one device at a time, so if you turn it on for a Garmin, your Apple Watch stops getting notifications. And the watch maker has to build support for it. Whether your watch supports it depends on brand and model. I couldn’t check this brand by brand, so look in your watch’s app.

What you give up compared to an Apple Watch

To be fair, a Garmin or Withings beats the Apple Watch in some ways. The battery lasts days or weeks instead of a day or two. But on the iPhone you do miss a few things:

• Full replies to messages and iMessage, unless your watch supports the new forwarding in the EU.
• Taking calls on your wrist through your iPhone.
• Unlocking your Mac with your watch and approving things on the Mac with it.
• Apple Pay. There’s often a brand payment service, but it doesn’t work with every bank.
• Siri, Find My and third-party apps that only exist for Apple Watch.
• Everything ends up in Apple Health, but sometimes with a delay and not always every data type.

Bringing your health data along

This is where it gets tricky. There is no direct way to move your history from Samsung Health or Health Connect into Apple Health. Health Connect only exists on Android, and Samsung Health no longer has an iPhone app. Apple’s Move to iOS app for Android brings over contacts, photos and messages, but no health data.

What you can do:

• Samsung Health: in the settings you can download your personal data. You get a folder of CSV files. That’s fine as an archive, but there’s no official way to get them into Apple Health. Some third-party apps claim they can. I didn’t find one I’d recommend with confidence, so only try that with a copy.
• Google Fit and Fitbit: Google is helping Google Fit users move their history into Google Health. Once it’s all in Google Health, you can just keep using that app on the iPhone. Whether the new Apple Health link also sends over your old history or only new data, I couldn’t confirm.
• Workouts: if you already keep your workouts in Strava or a similar service, they live there regardless of your phone. That’s often the easiest way to keep your training history.

My advice: export everything before you switch, keep that export somewhere safe and accept that Apple Health starts with a clean slate. It feels like a loss, but after a few weeks you’ll have enough data for useful trends again.

Your smart home and Apple Home

The smart home is far friendlier to switchers than the wrist. That’s mostly thanks to Matter, the shared standard from Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung and a few hundred other companies. A Matter device works with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings, and you can add the same device to several systems at once.

Matter and Thread in 2026

Matter 1.4 brought better energy management and easier sharing of Thread networks, among other things. Matter 1.5 arrived at the end of 2025 and finally added cameras, plus blinds, curtains and gates. Version 1.5.1 followed in March 2026 with fixes for cameras and doorbells. Keep in mind that the standard supporting cameras doesn’t mean your camera or Apple Home does yet. That’s coming step by step.

Thread is the wireless network many Matter devices use. It’s low power and fast, but you need a so-called border router. A HomePod mini, HomePod (2nd generation) or Apple TV 4K with Ethernet does this, and so does a Google Nest Hub or Nest Wifi Pro. Thread 1.4 helps networks from different brands work together better, and Apple has built it into tvOS 27.

You need a home hub

Since 10 February 2026, Apple Home only runs on the new architecture, and an iPad can no longer act as a home hub. For automations, control away from home or sharing your home with others, you need an Apple TV 4K or HomePod. On 13 October 2026 Apple introduced two new hubs: the HomePod mini 2 and a new Apple TV 4K, both with Siri AI and Thread. Both are coming to the Netherlands too. Apple also unveiled HomeView, a smart display for the home, but it isn’t for sale in the EU for now because Siri AI isn’t available on iPhone here yet. Read more in our HomeView article.

The Home app on iPhone and Mac

Apple Home comes built in on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and the Mac. On the Mac you can control everything and run scenes, and you can use Home actions in Shortcuts. Adding new devices is easiest from the iPhone.

Which brands you can keep

Google Home and Nest

The Google Home app works fine on iPhone and iPad. You can keep using your Nest speakers, Chromecast and cameras there. There’s no Google Home app for the Mac. You can view cameras and control some devices at home.google.com in a browser, but setup happens on your phone.

Only part of the Nest range works in Apple Home itself. The 2020 Nest Thermostat and the 4th generation Nest Learning Thermostat support Matter and can be added to Apple Home. Older Learning Thermostats, Nest cameras, doorbells and the Nest Protect don’t work in Apple Home. You keep controlling those through the Google Home app.

Amazon Alexa

The Alexa app works on iPhone. Your Echo speakers keep working, but they won’t show up in Apple Home. The other way round, Matter devices you use with Alexa can usually be added to Apple Home too. There’s no Alexa app for the Mac.

Philips Hue

Hue is probably the easiest brand to take with you. The Hue Bridge has worked with Apple Home for years, and the newer Hue Bridge Pro is also a Matter bridge. The newest bulbs speak Matter over Thread themselves, so they can join Apple Home without a bridge. The Hue app for iPhone is good.

IKEA

IKEA’s DIRIGERA hub is a Matter bridge, so older IKEA lights and sensors show up in Apple Home too. In 2026 IKEA released a range of new products that work directly over Matter over Thread. You don’t even need an IKEA hub for those; a HomePod or Apple TV is enough.

What can you keep when switching to iPhone?

What should you choose?

• You have a Galaxy Watch or Pixel Watch: sell it before you switch, while it’s still worth the most. Then choose between an Apple Watch or a Garmin, Withings or other tracker with an iPhone app.
• You train a lot and want long battery life: a Garmin with an iPhone is a solid combination. You give up some convenience with messages, but your data lands in Apple Health.
• Your home runs on Google Home or Alexa: you don’t have to throw anything out. Keep using the apps on your iPhone and move to Apple Home step by step, starting with your Matter devices.
• You want everything in Apple Home: get an Apple TV 4K or HomePod as a hub and from now on only buy devices with the Matter logo or “Works with Apple Home”.

Step-by-step plan

1. Make a list of all your wearables and smart devices, with brand and model.
2. Export your data from Samsung Health, Google Fit or Google Health and store that export safely.
3. Sell or give away a Wear OS watch before you give up your Android phone.
4. Install the apps for the devices you’re keeping on your iPhone: Garmin Connect, Google Health, Google Home, Alexa, Hue or IKEA Home smart.
5. Turn on sharing with Apple Health in those apps and choose which data to share.
6. If you live in the EU, check Settings > Notifications to see whether your watch supports Notification Forwarding.
7. Set up an Apple TV 4K or HomePod as your home hub.
8. Add Matter devices to Apple Home. For devices already in Google Home or Alexa, get a pairing code from that app so you don’t have to reset them.
9. Leave devices without Matter in their own app for now and only replace them when they break or you want something new anyway.

And with Apple?

Going all Apple makes things simpler. An Apple Watch does what other watches aren’t allowed to do on the iPhone: reply to messages, take calls, unlock your Mac and pay with Apple Pay. On the other hand, the battery doesn’t last as long as a Garmin’s, and an Apple Watch only works with an iPhone. Apple Home is tidy, runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch and, thanks to Matter, is much less limited than it used to be. But the choice of devices is smaller than with Google or Alexa, and for cameras you still depend on what manufacturers build in. If you’re thinking about an Apple Watch, have a look at Getting started with your Apple Watch first.

This whitepaper describes the situation in October 2026, with iOS 27, watchOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate. Manufacturers change their apps and support regularly, and it was updated after Apple’s announcements on 13 October 2026. When in doubt, check the support page for your own device.

This article is part of the Mac and the rest of the world series, where you’ll find every part in one place.