Microsoft says it is “slowly” releasing a new update to its Your Phone app that allows users of all Android phones to stream their mobile apps, such as WhatsApp, to a separate window on Windows 10 PCs.
Microsoft first unveiled the new features in the Your Phone app at the August 5 Samsung Unpacked event. The new feature lets Windows 10 users with selected Android phones interact with their mobile apps on their Windows 10 PCs in separate windows outside the Your Phone app.
The feature was made available in Windows Insider build 20185 for users on the Dev ring. But as of this week, it should be available for all PCs running the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, version 1809, or later.
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The Your Phone app feature effectively enables users to use mobile apps from an Android phone from a Windows 10 PC.
Windows 10 users can pin their favorite mobile apps to the Taskbar as Start Menu on the PC. When they launch an app, it will open in a separate window.
“So, if you need to respond quickly to a conversation, respond to your social messages, or order food, you can do it quickly with your PC’s big screen, keyboard, mouse, pen and touchscreen alongside your other PC apps,” explained Brandon LeBlanc, a senior program manager in the Windows Insider team.
While the features are widely available, Microsoft’s list of currently supported phones includes only Samsung Galaxy phones from their S and A series families.
“This is a slow startup, so it may take a few days for Apps to appear within the Your Phone app,” LeBlanc warned.
To use the Android-to-Windows 10 app streaming feature, the handset will need to run Android 9 or later and have the Link to Windows integration. In addition, the Android phone and the Windows 10 PC must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
The features that will work on Android phones and PCs when the update of your phone includes include the ability to view installed Android apps in the Your Phone app, the ability to add frequently used apps to the favorite section and mobile apps from the PC.
Microsoft has also outlined some notes on the behavior of inputs such as keyboard and mouse for interacting with Android apps that have been streamed to a PC. For example, a single mouse click should work as expected, as if the app were a normal one running on Windows 10.
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To pin an Android app to the Windows Start menu, users need to open the Your Phone app, go to Apps and then right-click on the icon to pin to favorites on the desktop.
The Your Phone app in its current state is the culmination of more than two years of work that Microsoft has undertaken to merge functionality between Android phones and Windows 10 PCs to a level equal to that available between Apple’s macOS and iOS devices .
However, there are some notable limitations. Users need to connect the Android device to a PC via the Your Phone app and they can only open one Android app at a time as the Your Phone app mirrors the screen of the Android device and the open app in it. Opening another app replaces the app that is open.
The Your Phone app feature lets users use the mobile apps of an Android phone from a Windows 10 PC.
Image: Microsoft
