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 the Microsoft Store (opens in new tab) as well as a companion app on the 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 on Windows 11.
Despite Phone Link gaining a new look and a new name earlier in the year, Microsoft has been concentrating on other apps in the meantime to give them bigger improvements, such as Paint and Windows Media Player. However, Phone Link is finally getting some attention again with a new search bar.
This will allow you to go through your messages with a quick search, without having to scroll through potentially hundreds of messages. Yet, while this new feature is welcome, Phone Link could be laying the foundation for something even more exciting, especially with Android apps about to be made available on the Microsoft Store, thanks to Amazon.
Analysis: let’s see it be greater than it is
Granted, it’s not the best name from Microsoft, but it’s got a track record of poor names with its other products throughout the years. But Phone Link is one of the best apps to come out from 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 download and run some Android apps on Windows 11 already, and you can manage your phone’s content through Phone Link. The next step must surely be to run your apps through your phone.
This way, you could be playing a game on your Pixel 6 for example, and you could carryon playing it on your PC thanks to Phone Link on Windows 11. The signs suggest that Microsoft is planning to do something like this, but it has been known to throw some curveballs as well.
Whatever the company decides, Phone Link is still a worthy app to consider if you have an Android phone, and however small the improvements can be, it’s still building on what is a great app.
