Control your cell phone from your Windows PC: Microsoft finally makes it really easy

It is one of the best Windows apps that comes pre-installed on computers – your smartphone app. The software links your PC to your Android smartphone. iPhones are also supported, but there are far fewer features available for Apple mobile phones. Now your smartphone is a rich suite to control android smartphone from desktop. You don’t need more than the right companion app (in slightly cumbersome German “companion for your smartphone”), compatible Samsung smartphones even have the option to connect directly pinned in the settings.

Microsoft is now rolling out a new app feature that displays the three most recently used apps from your smartphone on the desktop. The feature is currently rolling out to the Windows Insider community.

View recently opened mobile apps on desktop

With the new feature, switching between a smartphone and a Windows PC should be even easier. If you open an app on the phone, you can now continue with it seamlessly on PC.

To do this, simply click on the little upward pointing arrow on the Windows taskbar and then on the smartphone icon. You will now see the three apps that you last opened on your smartphone. One click on the application icon is enough to launch the application directly on the PC.

Reply to messages and control settings

In addition to text messages, you can reply to all the messages that appear in your notifications in the Windows app and view notifications right on your desktop. Calls can also be answered and you can easily control the music playing on the smartphone from PC.

This makes it possible to conveniently control frequently used settings of connected mobile phones from within Windows: for example, turning Bluetooth on and off, turning sound on or off, starting and stopping music, or controlling do not disturb mode. In addition, the paired smartphone provides information about the status of the battery or the WLAN or the reception of the mobile phone.

Simply use Android apps on PC

By far the most exciting feature of your smartphone allows you to use any app installed on the smartphone on Windows computer. You can select apps from the clear list, launch them in a new window, and even pin them to the taskbar for better usability.

The problem: By no means all smartphones are supported. Other than Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo device, only current Samsung models are supported due to a partnership between Samsung and Microsoft. So if you want to use Android apps on your PC despite other smartphone manufacturers, you should other methods hold.

Calls, photos and music

The Your Smartphone app is already pre-installed with Windows 10 and users can download the latest updates from the Microsoft Store. With this application it is not only possible to write SMS messages, which are then sent via an Android smartphone. Photos from Android phones also end up on the Windows desktop, and since the release of Windows 10 in 2004, calls can also be made.

This works from Android 7. Calls then show up as a popup on desktop with a linked Android smartphone. You can also call contacts and dial numbers freely from your smartphone app. If you also listen to music on your smartphone, you can switch songs using the corresponding button in the Windows 10 app.