Microsoft Brings Remote Desktop to Windows 10 Mobile and Continuum

Continuum in Windows 10 Mobile is only mildly interesting on its own, as most phone apps aren’t really tailored for a big screen. But the ability to run real Windows desktop applications remotely through Continuum on Windows 10 Mobile could put this solution over the top for many. And on that note, Microsoft has just enabled this functionality via a preview version of its Remote Desktop app.

The Remote Desktop app has been around since Windows 8; it’s a universal (once “modern”) mobile app that provides the same basic capabilities as the Remote Desktop Connection desktop application that’s been around since …. well, forever.

With its latest update—version 844–the Remote Desktop app now works on Windows 10 Mobile as well as the PC/tablet versions of Windows 10. More important—because we actually did have a Remote Desktop app for Windows Phone 8, too–it supports Continuum on Windows 10 Mobile. And that means that you can now have a real PC-like experience when you use a Windows 10 Mobile handset, a Continuum dock, a keyboard, a mouse, and an external display.

Here’s what’s new in this release.

Remote Desktop Preview is a Universal Windows App. This new preview version of the Remote Desktop app has been tailored to work properly on phones as well as PCs and tablets, and can now “handle devices of all sizes.”

It will work in both portrait and landscape mode. While accessing a PC or server screen on your phone is of limited value, it does work as you’d expect, and will eventually allow for both portrait and landscape views. (It’s landscape-only when remotely connected for now.)

It works with Continuum. This is obviously the most exciting bit. “If you own a Lumia 950 or 950XL, you can use the Remote Desktop Preview client on a larger monitor or TV with Continuum,” Microsoftsays. “Continuum enables you to connect a capable mobile device to any screen with the Microsoft Display Dock or a Miracast capable device, and power a PC-like experience on that screen. You can attach a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to your mobile device or a USB keyboard and mouse to the dock before connecting to a remote PC and using any apps [including Win32 desktop applications] that you have available in the remote session.”

Remote Resources support. The Remote Desktop Preview app supports Remote Resources (RemoteApp and Desktop Connections) that have been published your IT department at work. “This allows you to access specific apps or full desktops based on what configuration your admin selected from anywhere while keeping the enterprise data safe in the datacenter,” Microsoft explains.

You can download Remote Desktop Preview from the Windows Store.