Windows 10 and Android are now the perfect match
Microsoft's 'Your Phone' app is just the start.
Microsoft's new approach to mobile is pure pragmatism: Play nice with
everyone, and get their users hooked on Microsoft apps. With the demise
of Windows Phone -- a noble effort, especially after the 2011 Nokia
partnership -- the company really has no choice. But now Microsoft is
moving beyond merely getting its apps onto other platforms: It's
integrating Android in Windows 10 with the "Your Phone" app, which gives
you instant access to your mobile photos and text messages on the
desktop.
During its Surface launch event this week, Microsoft gave us a peek at
something even more impressive: the ability to completely mirror your
Android phone on Windows 10. All of a sudden, there's a much bigger
reason for Windows users to avoid the iPhone.
We don't know when that Android mirroring feature will arrive (we're
still waiting on Sets, something Microsoft previewed a year ago), but
the Your Phone app is readily available on the October Windows 10
update. Setting it up is surprisingly simple: install the "Your Phone
Companion" app on your Android device, log in to your Microsoft account
and give it permission to access your photos and text messages.
Meanwhile on your PC, the connection pops up on the Your Phone app, and
it then directs you back to your smartphone to secure desktop
permissions to the same content. It's a bit confusing at first, but it's
all in the name of security.
The setup process worked smoothly for me at home, but I ran into a few
snags on my work PC. Upon launching the Your Phone app, I saw a note
that said I needed to approve the new machine on my phone. But I didn't
automatically receive any permissions notification on my phone.
Microsoft includes a handy button on the PC app to trigger that alert on
Android, but it took several clicks before it popped up on my
smartphone.
Once the PC and Android sides are successfully connected, you'll see
your smartphone's latest photos and text messages on the Windows app.
You can handle pictures like any file on Windows: Open them up in the
Photos app; right-click to share with social networks, contacts, nearby
PCs and other Windows apps; and, best of all, you can just drag and drop
them wherever you want. There's a 10- to 30-second delay between taking
a photo on your phone and seeing it on your PC, but it's pretty
seamless otherwise, especially compared to waiting for iCloud photos to
move between iOS devices and Macs.
The text messaging integration is currently in preview and it's, pretty
basic. You can send and receive message, but that's about it. Still, it
seems useful for responding to friends without leaving your keyboard and
mouse. When I first connected the Your Phone app, only my last text
message appeared, but subsequent conversations showed up without issue.
It takes 15 to 30 seconds for a text to appear on Windows, but replies
from the Your Phone app showed up almost instantly on smartphones. I've
longed for something like iMessage's seamless synchronization across iOS
and MacOS, and Microsoft is close to matching that.
Of course, the company's integration strategy goes both ways: Android
users can also take advantage of the Windows 10 Timeline in the
Microsoft Launcher, giving them easy access to websites and recently
used documents from their PC. The Launcher, which is effectively a skin
for Android, also puts all of Microsoft's products and services, like
Bing and Office, front and center. With the addition of Timeline, it's
now more than just a glorified ad for the company -- it's a way to make
you more productive.
But while Microsoft cozies up to Android, iPhone owners will lose out.
There's some basic Timeline integration in Edge for iOS, but it's mainly
relegated to showing you websites you've visited on your PC. And you
can bet that Apple will never give a competitor deep access to photos
and text messaging on iPhones (let alone seeing iOS mirroring on
Windows). It makes sense for Microsoft to take advantage of Android's
flexibility. And unlike the partnership with Nokia to make Windows Phone
devices, Microsoft won't have to worry about building a huge ecosystem
for Android -- it just has to build a more useful experience for the
users already there.
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