During this week’s Surface event, Microsoft announced the Surface Duo 2, the latest iteration of its dual-screen smartphone. While the device itself is packing some much-needed improvements – as we noted in our hands-on – Microsoft is also working to improve the experience for accessing your phone from your PC. This is done through the Your Phone app, and during the event we got a glimpse at a new UI for the app in Windows 11, which makes it more accessible.
Currently, the Your Phone app UI for Windows 10 and Windows 11 has a few sections on the side menu, including Notifications, Messages, Calls, and Apps (on select Samsung phones and the Surface Duo only). All of these sections are separate, so you can only see one of them at a time. That’s partly going to change now, however. Microsoft is replacing the menu on the left side of the app with a notification feed, so notifications are always accessible as you navigate the rest of the app. Just like before, you can reply to notifications or take action on them from your PC this way.
The different sections have been moved to the top of the app window, and they work like they used to. You can access your phone’s apps, make calls, and send SMS messages from your PC. You can also duplicate your phone’s screen to your computer.
That’s all we could really see of the app during the event. There don’t seem to be any major new features here, and Microsoft also didn’t say when this new UI will be available for the Your Phone app in Windows 11. Perhaps most importantly, Microsoft hasn’t announced any plans to bring apps and screen projection to more Android phones outside of the Surface Duo and Samsung Galaxy phones. Plus, iPhone users are similarly out of luck, since the app still doesn’t work with iPhones.
If you’re interested in running Android apps on your PC, you may also want to wait for Android app support to come to Windows 11. You’ll be able to run those apps independently from your phone, though they may be limited by the lack of Google Mobile Services. Android app support should (hopefully) be available to Windows Insiders in the coming months.
To try the Your Phone app with your Android phone, you’ll need to download the Your Phone Companion app from the Play Store.
