Microsoft details Your Phone's new phone music remote control feature

We reported earlier that Microsoft appears to be working on a new feature for their Your Phone app which lets you control the music on your phone.

Now Microsoft has revealed the feature as part of their update to Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19619.

The feature lets you access and control the audio apps playing from your phone directly within the app, without needing to split your attention between devices or breaking your workflow. Your audio tracks will remain in sync between your phone and PC, and you can switch between multiple sources using the dropdown in the player.

Key features

• See and interact with the audio apps playing from your smartphone.
• Audio title track details are displayed and remain in sync with what’s playing on your phone.
• Control your tracks from your PC, including play, pause, previous/next.
• Switch between multiple sources using the dropdown in the audio player.

Audio player control requirements

• A PC running Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later. However, we always recommend updating to the latest version.
• Android phone running 7.0+.
• Apps that support media controls in their Android notifications. Some examples of popular apps that are supported include Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Xiami Music, and Google Podcast.
• Show audio currently playing from my phone will be turned on by default in the Your Phone app settings if Your Phone Notifications permissions are granted.
• Individual audio apps require notifications permissions granted on your Android phone. Turn these on through Android Settings > Notifications > select the audio app > turn Notifications on.

Known issues

• Some audio apps support “Previous Track” and others may support “Rewind Track.”
• YouTube video and Audible are currently not supported.

The feature is gradually rolling out, so it may take a few days to show up in the Your Phone app (YP version 1.20041.85 and YPC 1.20041.82.* or newer). We assume Microsoft will test it with Windows 10 Insiders before sending it out to mainstream users.