Microsoft Starts Rolling Out Phone Link for iOS to All Windows 11 Users
- Laurent Giret
- Apr 26, 2023
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Microsoft has started rolling out iPhone support in its Phone Link app for Windows 11. Phone Link already lets Android users view and reply to text messages, make and receive phone calls, view their notifications, and more, and it took Microsoft years to finally add iOS support.
Microsoft has been testing Phone Link for iOS with a subset of Windows Insiders since February, and the feature is now rolling out across 85 markets. However, the PC/iOS Phone connection will be quite limited compared to what Android users can enjoy.
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Right now, Phone Link lets iPhone users send and receive messages, make and receive calls, and see their iPhone notifications from a Windows 11 PC. However, image/video sharing and group messaging are not supported.
There’s also no way to see your iPhone photos in the app. As a workaround, Microsoft recommends installing iCloud for Windows and taking advantage of the iCloud integration in the Windows 11 Photos app. The ability to run iPhone apps from your PC is also unsupported.
Phone Link for iOS requires iOS 14 or newer, as well as a Windows 11 PC with a Bluetooth connection. You’ll also need to download the latest update for the Phone Link from the Microsoft Store, though you may have to wait for a couple of weeks before iPhone support becomes available in the app. Microsoft expects to complete the rollout of this feature by mid-May.