Microsoft is working on an update to its Phone Link app that allows smartphones to be controlled in Windows 11 by adding a search bar and fixing some bugs.
Available on Microsoft Store (opens in new tab) as well as a companion app on Google Play Store (opens in new tab)The app connects to your Android smartphone, where you can access photos, make and receive calls, drag and drop files, send and receive messages, all in Windows 11.
Despite Phone Link getting a new look and a new name earlier this year, Microsoft has been focusing on other apps to deliver bigger improvements, like Paint and Windows Media Player. However, Phone Link is finally getting some attention again with a new search bar.
This will allow you to scroll through your messages with a quick search, without having to potentially scroll through hundreds of messages. However, while this new feature is a welcome one, Phone Link could be laying the groundwork for something even more exciting, especially with Android apps about to be made available on the Microsoft Store, thanks to Amazon.
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Granted, it’s not Microsoft’s best name, but it has a history of bad names with its other products over the years. But Phone Link is one of the best apps released by the company in recent years and it could lay the groundwork for more Android apps to be used on your PC.
The parts are all there: you can already download and run some Android apps on Windows 11, and you can manage your phone’s content via Phone Link. The next step should certainly be to run your apps over the phone.
That way, you could be playing a game on your Pixel 6, for example, and keep playing it on your PC thanks to Phone Link in Windows 11. Signs suggest that Microsoft is planning to do something like this, but it’s been known to throw a few balls. curves too.
Whatever the company decides, Phone Link is still an app worth considering if you have an Android phone, and however minor the improvements are, it’s still building on what is a great app.