Subj : Windows 11 just became a tempting upgrade for iPhone owners
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu Apr 27 2023 11:00:03

Windows 11 just became a tempting upgrade for iPhone owners

Date:
Thu, 27 Apr 2023 09:44:20 +0000

Description:
Phone Link for iOS is rolling out, although you might not see it on your 
Windows 11 PC for a little while yet.

FULL STORY
======================================================================

 Windows 11 users are now getting Phone Link for iOS rolled out to them, so 
those with an iPhone will be able to hook up their handset to the desktop. 

Previously, the feature had been in testing, but with the full arrival on 
Windows 11 PCs, now everyone gets a look in. Indeed, its a global rollout, 
with Microsoft announcing that Phone Link for iOS is inbound in 39 languages 
across 85 markets. 

Phone Link for the iPhone can be used to get notifications, calls, and 
messages on your desktop PC  and as weve previously reported, this means you 
can use iMessage on a Windows 11 device . 

The slight catch here is that you may not see the feature on your Windows 11 
PC just yet. The rollout is happening in phases, so only a limited number of 
users will be able to get Phone Link for iOS right now  but it wont be long 
before everyone is covered (well come back to that momentarily). 

For those who have got the feature through, when installing the Phone Link 
app, youll see the option for the iPhone (as well as Android of course, which 
Phone Link has always worked with). Note that youll need to be running iOS 14 
or better. (Image credit: Microsoft) Analysis: Microsoft is treading 
carefully here 

It seems Microsoft is being pretty cautious around this rollout, with the 
company admitting that it has purposefully chosen a conservative approach to 
releasing the update in its blog post announcement. 

How long will it take for Microsoft to push out Phone Link for iOS exactly? 
Were told that the functionality will be deployed for everyone come the 
middle of May, so the worst-case scenario is that youll be waiting three 
weeks (or that should be the case, anyway). 

It should be worth the wait, Microsoft promises us, as the software giant has 
had some pretty positive feedback from internal testers thus far. 

Clearly, though, the Phone Link experience on iOS is far more limited than on 
Android, with just the basics being piped through to the desktop (not so much 
Microsofts fault as Apples, of course). As noted, there is iMessage support 
which is good to see, but this is barebones too, and you wont get the full 
message history for example, or be able to use the entire range of iMessage 
features. 

Still, even the Android experience on Phone Link is restricted in some ways, 
as some of the coolest features are for Samsung handsets only , which has 
long been a gripe for many users.



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/news/windows-11-just-became-a-tempting-upgrade-for-i
phone-owners


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)

.