Bam! That is the most frequently asked question. But we get it. There are soo many different devices! Let's see which one you could use if you're keen to try Surfr during your next session.
💡 Surfr requires a gyroscope and an accelerometer that provides 100 measurements per second (100Hz).
Before purchasing a new device, be sure to check its specifications carefully. To ensure compatibility, we recommend to avoid buying other devices that haven’t been verified by us.
📱 Phones
For tracking your watersport activities, you can simply use your phone in a waterproof pouch. This way of measurement even includes feedback of your jump height, as the app will tell you the jump height right after every jump. Just make sure your volume is up!
iPhone
Easy: iPhone 5s and higher
Android phone
That's a bit more complicated: All phones having a gyroscope and an accelerometer available are in theory suitable for the Surfr app. You should be able to find this in the specifications of the phone.
Our experiences with different Android phones:
Samsung - Should work! We have tested with Galaxy S7 and newer.
Motorola - Cheap phones, long battery live. We especially love the G series but don’t take the Motorola E series, don’t take the G Play series, those are budget phones that don’t have a gyroscope.
Xiaomi - Works but requires setting up battery permission. Learn all about it in this video.
Huawei - Works but requires setting up battery permission. Learn all about it in this video.
⌚️ Watches
If you prefer to leave your phone at the beach, you can also use the Surfr app with just your watch!
🌐 eSim vs non eSim watches For tracking your sessions, you don't need an internet connection. The only time when internet is needed, is when you want to sync your sessions from the watch to the Surfr App on your phone.
eSim watches offer connectivity to you on the water, providing benefits like live location, live communication etc.
Apple Watches
Surfr works with Apple Watch 4 and higher (including SE and Ultra models).
As you can track your sessions offline, it is not required to have an eSim. If you do have one, you can make use of extra online features such as communication and live tracking.
Android Watches
We've tested all Galaxy Watches from Series 4 and newer (including Ultra) as well as Google Pixel watches.
Our experiences with different Android watches:
Galaxy 4 - is working, but battery drains quickly (3-5 hours of session tracking on full battery). All the other and newer Galaxy watches work much better.
Ticwatch PRO - Unfortunately it looks that recent Ticwatches are not working because of limitations that the manufacturer has put on the Ticwatch sensors.
Google Pixel - We made good progression with the support for Pixel watchand this is now working (feb 2024). For optimal use, make sure to enable Auto Waterlock as well as Always On.
Xiaomi - This watch is confirmed not to be working. Although it has the right sensors on board, the accelerometer only provides data at 50 measurements per second. Surfr needs at least 100 measurements per second (100Hz) to ensure accuracy.
💬 iOS vs Android We do have more experience using and testing the software on iOS versus WearOS which, at the moment, results in more accuracy and features on Apple Watches. It is our goal to reach the same experience on every device and every day we are working hard to reach this!
Garmin Watches
As for any other watch, Surfr requires a gyroscope and an accelerometer that provides 100 measurements per second (100Hz).
Since the last update (Surfr 3.0) in March 2025, 95% of 100Hz Garmin watches are fully compatible. Which means that most watches now support live jump height, airtime, and distance with full Surfr.AI compatibility.
Garmin also has a lot of watches with an accelerometer with 25 measurements per second (25 Hz watches). For those watches, it is not possible to show real time jump heights. These watches will track GPS only.
If your watch lacks any of the required sensors, it is not compatible with the Surfr app. As a result, the app will not appear in your Garmin Connect IQ store.