Microsoft integrates Android apps into Windows 10 with new Your Phone update

[Karlston]

Microsoft integrates Android apps into Windows 10 with new Your Phone update

Android apps are getting tighter integration in Windows 

Microsoft is now allowing Windows 10 users to run Android apps side by side with Windows applications on a PC. It’s part of a new feature in Your Phone, and it builds upon the mirroring that Microsoft’s Your Phone app already provides. You can now access a list of Android apps in Microsoft’s Your Phone app and launch these mobile apps accordingly. These will run in a separate window outside of the Your Phone app, mirrored from your phone.

 

This new Android app support also allows Windows 10 users to multitask with other Windows apps with alt+tab support, and you’ll even be able to pin these Android apps to the Windows 10 taskbar or Start menu. The ability to launch apps directly from Your Phone means you no longer have to search around on a mirrored experience of your phone, you can simply pin your favorite Android apps to the taskbar and run them as if they’re regular Windows apps.

Android apps running on a Windows 10 PC.

One big part of this new Your Phone experience is being able to run multiple Android apps side by side, something that Microsoft announced with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 launch earlier today. Windows 10 users won’t be able to access this particular feature until “later this year” on the Galaxy Note 20, and Microsoft says it’s also working with Samsung to bring this to other devices.

 

Not all Android apps will work seamlessly with this new Your Phone feature, though. Microsoft warns that some may block the ability to cast to other screens, producing a black screen instead. Some apps and games will also not respond to a keyboard or mouse, and others may play audio from your phone.

 

If you’re interested in trying out the new Your Phone apps feature, you’ll need a Samsung device. Microsoft has a list of all supported Android devices, but it’s literally only Samsung handsets right now.

 

 

Microsoft integrates Android apps into Windows 10 with new Your Phone update

 

[Karlston]

Samsung and Microsoft will let you run Galaxy Note 20 apps on your Windows 10 PC

You’ll only be able to run one app at a time at first, though 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Samsung and Microsoft announced at last year’s Galaxy Unpacked that they would be forming a closer partnership to help Android and Windows work better together. At today’s Galaxy Unpacked, the two companies revealed new integrations between their two ecosystems — including a way to run apps from your Galaxy Note 20 on your Windows 10 PC.

 

Here’s a GIF from Microsoft showing a Windows 10 PC running WhatsApp and Instagram side by side from a Galaxy Note 20:

You’ll only be able to use one app at a time on your PC at first, but Microsoft says that you’ll be able to run multiple apps, as is shown in the GIF, sometime in November. You’ll also be able to pin apps to your Windows taskbar or Start menu so you can access them more quickly.

 

The two companies are also making it easier to sync information between your Galaxy Note 20 and the Microsoft 365 suite of apps. Notes from your Samsung Notes app will be able to sync with the OneNote app and with your OneNote feed in Outlook on the web, for example. Microsoft says this feature is “coming soon.” And Samsung Reminders will be able to sync across Microsoft To Do, Outlook, and Microsoft Teams.

 

 

Samsung and Microsoft also announced a special version of the Xbox Game Pass app coming to Samsung’s Galaxy Store that allows players to make in-app purchases.

 

 

Samsung and Microsoft will let you run Galaxy Note 20 apps on your Windows 10 PC

 

[Karlston]

Have posted a guide here...