Microsoft is enhancing integration between PC and mobile devices introducing new features directly within the Windows 11 search bar to make life easier for users.
The latest builds distributed on the Insider channel (in particular the Experimental version 26340.9843) have revealed the possibility of interact with your Android smartphone directly from the taskbar of the operating system, bypassing the intermediate steps.
This is a new step forward integration process that has been going on for some time (with ups and downs) and which, in the future, should closely link Windows computers with Android smartphones.
What’s new on Windows
The main innovation concerns thestarting applicationsthe. By typing the name of an Android app installed on the connected phone (such as a social network or mobile messaging software), Windows 11 Search will show it among the results labeled “Mobile App”. By clicking on “Open”, the application will be launched in streaming on the desktop via Phone Link, allowing it to be used with a mouse and keyboard. The app does not run natively on your PCbut remains active on the smartphone that transmits the interface.
Quick actions and Microsoft’s new strategy
In addition to launching applications, the update introduces a number of “quick actions” (Phone actions). Right from the search bar, users can now search for a contact to make a phone call, send a text message or even change the phone’s system settings, such as enabling “Do Not Disturb” mode, without ever having to physically touch the mobile device.
This move is part of a precise strategy following the closure of the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), the project that aimed at native execution of the green robot’s apps on Windows. Microsoft has decided not to abandon the mobile ecosystem, focusing everything on remote streaming and breaking down barriers to entry: you no longer need to open the Phone Link app beforehand, as the search bar now serves as a universal entry portal.
Currently, advanced integration features are compatible with one selection of supported Android smartphones (mainly Samsung, Honor, Oppo, Asus, Vivo and Xiaomi brands connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the PC). As for the users iOSMicrosoft has confirmed that support for Quick Actions related to iPhones will arrive early next year, although there is no confirmation yet on the streaming launch of apps from the Apple ecosystem.
