By Abhik Sengupta: The Microsoft Phone Link app for Apple App Store on iPhones is now available. With the app, iPhone users will be able to connect the smartphone to a Windows PC to take calls and check notifications directly on the PC. The update is significant as Apple restricted these functionalities among its in-house products. It means users were earlier required to get a MacBook if they wanted seamless connectivity between the smartphone and laptop.
Microsoft says the new Phone Link app for iOS is rolling out in 39 languages across 85 markets. The feature was first announced earlier this year. The company adds that all Windows 11 users would get access to the iPhone support in Phone Link by mid-May.
Currently, the Apple App Store has the Phone Link app by Microsoft, though the same app on Windows PC does not support connection with an iPhone yet. Microsoft may start rolling out a new app or system update to unlock the capability. However, it appears that not all users are facing this issue, and they can establish a connection between the two devices.
In a blog post, Microsoft explains, “Once enabled by the Windows 11 customer, Phone Link for iOS will offer basic iOS support for calls, messages and access to contacts. This means if your phone is tucked away during a presentation or focus time, you’ll receive notifications on your Windows PC and can choose which action to take – all on your Windows 11 PC.”
If your Phone Link app on Windows PC supports connection with iOS, then the steps are simple.
–Launch Phone Link or search for “Phone Link” on your Windows 11 PC taskbar.
–Meanwhile, download the Phone Link app by Microsoft on the iPhone via Apple Store.
–Select ‘iPhone’ and complete the setup with the QR code.
–Customise notification preferences.
As explained by Microsoft, users can take calls and check notifications, but these functionalities are very basic. On the other hand, Android offers much more than that. Users can run Android apps, check photos, and even control music on the smartphone.
Apart from the Phone Link app, iPhone users with a Windows PC can check out other official apps to sync data wirelessly. For instance, OneDrive would allow users to share between the phone and PC, including docs and images. Microsoft also has a Notes app that can be an alternative to the Apple Notes app. For browsers, there’s Edge and Bing. Both Microsoft browsers currently include the Bing Chat feature built on GPT-4 by OpenAI. The same LLM tech powers the latest ChatGPT.
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