Your Phone 'Android apps on PC' rolling out to everyone

Early this month, Microsoft released a major new feature for their Your Phone app – the ability to run your Android apps on your PC. The feature streamed your Android apps to your PC via the Your Phone app into a stand-alone window and allowed you to pin them to your taskbar, just like regular desktop apps.

The feature was only available to Windows 10 Insiders in the Dev ring on Build 20185. Microsoft today announced that this feature is now rolling out to the general public.

We are excited to announce that the Apps feature is now rolled out to everyone with supported devices (It may take up to 48hrs. to show up). It allows you to instantly access your Android phone’s mobile apps directly from your Windows 10 PC. Learn more: https://t.co/vASs8SCCVW pic.twitter.com/xUOaMmfALU

— Microsoft Phone Link (@MSPhoneLink) September 15, 2020

The feature currently only works with select Samsung handsets and can currently only stream one app at a time, though Microsoft is promising an update later this year which would allow multiple apps to be streamed from your phone to your PC, exclusively for Samsung Galaxy Note 20 users.

The feature offers:

• See a list of your installed Android apps directly within the Your Phone app.
• Add your frequently used apps to the favorites section or search among your apps for even quicker access.
• Launch any mobile app directly from your PC.
• Apps and your mirrored phone screen launch in a separate window on your PC.
• Pin your mobile apps to Windows Task bar or Start menu.
• Stay in the know by keeping an eye on the app notification badging (unread notifications) in the All apps list or your Favorites.

Apps feature requirements:

• PC running Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later. However, we always recommend updating to the latest version of Windows 10, Your Phone app and Link to Windows.
• Available on select Android phones running Android 9.0 or greater with the Link to Windows integration. Check out the list of supported phones below.
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Samsung Galaxy S9+
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10+
  • Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
  • Samsung Galaxy Fold
  • Samsung Galaxy S10
  • Samsung Galaxy S10+
  • Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
  • Samsung Galaxy A8s
  • Samsung Galaxy A30s
  • Samsung Galaxy A31
  • Samsung Galaxy A40
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
  • Samsung Galaxy A50
  • Samsung Galaxy A50s
  • Samsung Galaxy A51
  • Samsung Galaxy A60
  • Samsung Galaxy A70
  • Samsung Galaxy A70s
  • Samsung Galaxy A71
  • Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy A80
  • Samsung Galaxy A90s
  • Samsung Galaxy A90 5G
  • Samsung Galaxy S20
  • Samsung Galaxy S20+
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
  • Samsung Galaxy Fold
  • Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
• Phone and PC must be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Known Issues/Limitations:

• Some apps might block the ability to cast to other screens and you will see a black screen instead.
• Some games and apps might not respond to interactions from your PC mouse or keyboard. You will need to use a touch-enabled PC to interact with them.
• Audio from apps will play from your mobile device.

If you have a supported Samsung handset, check your Your Phone app to see if this great new feature has reached your device.