- Microsoft Windows users can now send texts from their iPhone through their desktop, allowing users to essentially operate their phones from their PC.
- Most Americans use iPhones, and Apple’s PC and phone integration is one feature that helps explain why Mac laptops have taken market share over Windows PCs in recent years.
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Microsoft announce On Monday, the latest version of Phone Link for Windows 11 PCs can receive notifications, send texts, and answer calls from a user’s paired iPhone.
Most Americans use iPhones, and Apple’s integration across its products has helped the Mac business gain market share from Windows PCs in recent years. Apple accounted for about 10% of global PC shipments last year, the rest being Windows devices, according to IDC.
Microsoft’s move could remove a barrier for PC buyers who would otherwise choose the Mac. Phone Link previously only worked with Android phones.
Phone Link software doesn’t have nearly as many features as Apple’s Messages for Mac. It works through bluetooth, according to the edgeand requires the Microsoft “Link to Windows” app to be installed on the iPhone.
A Windows computer that supports Phone Link receives notifications from the user’s iPhone and displays messages in Windows. It does not support group messaging via iMessage and does not allow users to send photos or videos either. Phone Link can only display messages it sends or receives, so a user who has sent some text messages on their phone won’t see that part of their message history in the Windows app.
“The messaging feature is limited to iOS,” the company said in Monday’s announcement. An Apple representative did not respond to a request for comment.
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