Windows 10 PCs can now launch Android apps from most Samsung Galaxy phones

Update 1 (08/22/2020 @ 02:53 PM ET): Microsoft has announced that the Your Phone apps feature is now gradually rolling out to PCs running Windows 10. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on August 5, 2020, is preserved below.

If you own a modern Samsung Galaxy smartphone, it just got a lot sweeter to also be a Windows 10 user. Microsoft on Wednesday announced a new feature that will allow users to access their Galaxy phone’s Android apps right beside their Windows applications.

The new functionality is part of an update to Microsoft’s Your Phone app and works with a variety of Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy S20, and at launch, the new Galaxy Note 20. You can see the full list of supported Samsung devices below.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9
• Samsung Galaxy S9
• Samsung Galaxy S9+
• Samsung Galaxy Note10
• Samsung Galaxy Note10+
• Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
• Samsung Galaxy Fold
• Samsung Galaxy S10
• Samsung Galaxy S10+
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
• Samsung Galaxy S10e
• Samsung Galaxy A8s
• Samsung Galaxy A30s
• Samsung Galaxy A31
• Samsung Galaxy A40
• Samsung Galaxy A41
• Samsung Galaxy A50
• Samsung Galaxy A50s
• Samsung Galaxy A51
• Samsung Galaxy A60
• Samsung Galaxy A70
• Samsung Galaxy A70s
• Samsung Galaxy A71
• Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
• Samsung Galaxy A80
• Samsung Galaxy A90s
• Samsung Galaxy A90 5G
• Samsung Galaxy S20
• Samsung Galaxy S20+
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Fold
• Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
• Samsung Galaxy Note 20
• Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Microsoft says users won’t need to sign in or set up apps on their PC, and you can even pin your favorite mobile apps to your Taskbar or Start menu. The update makes using Android apps on your Windows 10 PC much more convenient — and the fact that apps and your mirrored phone screen launch in separate windows on your PC makes multitasking even easier.

“Your Phone” Apps experience (Key Features):

• See a list of your installed Android apps directly within the Your Phone app.
• Add your frequently used apps to the favorites section or search among your apps for even quicker access.
• Launch any mobile app directly from your PC.
• Apps and your mirrored phone screen launch in a separate window on your PC.
• Pin your mobile apps to Windows Task bar or Start menu.
• Stay in the know by keeping an eye on the app notification badging (unread notifications) in the All apps list or your Favorites.

Microsoft notes that there are some known issues and limitations with the Apps feature at the moment. Some apps may block the ability to cast to other screens, so you might see a black screen. Meanwhile, some games and apps may not respond to a mouse and keyboard, while audio from some apps might continue to play on your mobile device rather than on your PC.

The apps experience in the Your Phone app is currently gradually rolling out to users running a Windows 10 Insiders Build on a PC configured to be in the Dev, Beta, or Release Preview Channels. The feature is arriving as part of a server-side update, so not all users on the latest Windows 10 Insider build will get the feature at the same time. The feature itself only requires a PC running the Windows 10 October 2018 update or later and an Android smartphone running Android 9 Pie or later with Link to Windows integration (which is currently limited to multiple Samsung Galaxy models).

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As part of today’s Galaxy Note 20 launch, Microsoft also announced that an upcoming update to Your Phone will let users run multiple Android apps side by side. This feature won’t be available until sometime later this year and will be exclusive to the Galaxy Note 20 at first, but Microsoft and Samsung will likely work to bring it to more Samsung devices.

Update 1: Rolling Out

On August 21st, Microsoft announced Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20197. In the blog post, Microsoft also announced that the new Your Phone apps feature is now gradually rolling out to “General Public.” This includes PCs running Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later with Your Phone app version 1.20071.88 and Link to Windows version 2.0. This feature is still limited to the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy devices running Android 9 Pie or later with Link to Windows integration.

The post Windows 10 PCs can now launch Android apps from most Samsung Galaxy phones appeared first on xda-developers.

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