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Windows 11’s File Explorer could hook up directly with your smartphone to make file transfers from Android easier than ever
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Microsoft has been hard at work further integrating Android devices into Windows 11, recently allowing users to draft in their phones as makeshift webcams. Riding the same wave of inter-device connectivity, a new feature is apparently in the works that will allow you to see and use your smartphone directly in Windows 11’s File Explorer – just like it was an external drive. 

According to reputable leaker @PhantomOfEarth on X, the groundwork is present in Windows 11 for the ‘Cross Device Experience Host’ to be able to link File Explorer on the desktop to your smartphone. This will allow File Explorer direct access to the files on your smartphone, or the ability to shift files the other way, from your PC to phone.

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If you cast your mind back to the beginning of the year, you may remember that the Cross Device Experience Host is replacing the Phone Link feature, so if you’re wondering why this may sound like more of a Phone Link feature, there’s your answer.

Once you turn on the feature – note that it’s still hidden in test versions of Windows 11 – @PhantomOfEarth observes that you’ll be asked to grant file access permissions, after which you’ll be good to go.

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Exciting times

Sadly, there isn’t anything else revealed about the feature, and we don’t even know the basics of how it’ll actually work. We’re assuming it’ll use Wi-Fi, maybe, to connect your phone and PC, so that your smartphone is always there in File Explorer whenever you sit at your computer with it (with both on the same Wi-Fi network). That’s pure speculation, mind.

We expect to see this functionality make an appearance in the Windows Insider Program, where devs and enthusiasts test out potential new features in preview builds of Windows 11. Until we have official word from Microsoft to confirm the feature is happening, though, we won’t know for sure – so don’t get your hopes up too high. 

That being said, it’s still a pretty cool ability to look forward to!  Not only could you move documents, photos, or other files between your PC and phone a lot more quickly and conveniently, but as noted, it seems like once you’ve set permissions your device should automatically register in File Explorer.

This is definitely a feature I would have enjoyed when I was a student and had to search and scramble between my phone and my laptop to make sure I had all the relevant research in one organized place. While I won’t allow myself to get too excited yet, I will wait patiently and hope to see the feature on my PC before too long. 

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Want to hook up your iPhone with Windows 11? Well now you can
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Windows 11 users who have an iPhone will be pleased to know that they can now benefit from Phone Link for iOS, as the feature has finished rolling out to the entire user base.

Microsoft began the rollout a few weeks back, noting that it would take some time, but the company has just updated the announcement blog post to let us know that it’s now out for everyone who wants a piece of the action.

Microsoft said: “We are pleased to announce that Phone Link for iOS is now available to all Windows 11 customers.”

If you want to install Phone Link for iOS, just search for the app (in the Windows 11 taskbar, search box), and fire it up – you’ll then see the option to install it for iPhone (as well as Android, of course).

Analysis: Bang on time

Phone Link has long been available for Android, and it has been a very long wait for iPhone owners to get their own take on the app. Still, it’s here now, and fully rolled out on schedule.

Bang on Microsoft’s intended schedule, actually. Back when Phone Link for iOS started rolling out in April, we were promised the process would be finished by mid-May, and that has come to pass as predicted.

That’s good news, as it seems Microsoft hasn’t run into any major bugs with the feature to hold things up. That’s always a possibility with any new piece of functionality, of course, but Microsoft specifically said it was taking a conservative and slow approach to the rollout here, which hinted at a degree of trepidation. There was no need to worry, though, it seems.

It is worth noting that Phone Link for iOS is more limited than its Android sibling. With the iPhone version, you only get the basics of receiving calls and messages through to the desktop, as well as notifications. But there is also iMessage support, too, which is a major boon, albeit that experience is limited too (there’s no message history, for example).

Even so, when you’re working at your PC and don’t want to keep looking at your iPhone, Phone Link represents a really convenient way of fielding all the basics and engaging somewhat with iMessage.

Via Neowin

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