As part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung announced during the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 in August last year that the Your Phone app would soon offer support for running various applications on Windows. After the announcement, Microsoft began rolling out the feature to users who opted for the Windows Insider program in November. The feature has recently become available to all users with selected Samsung smartphones.
According to Analy Otero Diaz, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, the multi-app experience on the Your Phone app is now available to all users running Windows 10 May 2020 or later. To run various applications from your Samsung device via your Windows phone, there are some prerequisites. This includes the following:
- The latest Windows 10 update from May 2020 or later. It is recommended that you update to the latest version of Windows 10. You can check and update by going to Settings> Updates and security> Check for updates
- 8 GB of RAM recommended on your Windows PC
- The latest version of the Your Phone application on your Windows PC with version 1.20102.132.0 or higher
- Your phone’s companion app to link Windows to your Samsung device. Make sure you have version 1.20102.133.0 or higher. You can download the app from the Google Play Store
- You also need the latest Link to the Windows service with version 2.1.05.2 or higher. This can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store
- Both the phone and the PC must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network
Although Microsoft mentions that you need an Android 11 device to enable support for multiple applications on your phone, not all devices running Android 11 are supported. On a separate page, Microsoft lists all compatible smartphones that currently include only a few Samsung devices. Here is the complete list:
- Samsung Galaxy Fold
- Samsung Galaxy Note20 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S20
- Samsung Galaxy S20 +
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note10
- Samsung Galaxy Note10 +
- Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
How to run multiple Android apps on Windows using your phone:
- After fulfilling all the requirements mentioned above, open the Your Phone application on your Windows PC
- The application will ask you to select between Android or iPhone. Select Android and click Continue
- Then, you will be asked to install / update to the latest version of the Your Phone Companion app on your Samsung smartphone by accessing this link (www.aks.ms/yourpc)
- After installing / updating the companion app on your phone, confirm it in the Your phone app on your PC and open the QR code
- On your compatible Samsung smartphone, go to Settings> Advanced features and go to Link for Windows
- Enable the service and tap Add Computer and use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code displayed in the Your Phone application on your PC
- Log in to your Microsoft account and wait for confirmation to allow your phone to connect to your PC
- You should now be able to see your phone in the Your Phone PC app
- Go to the Applications section on the left to get access to all applications installed on your phone
Interacting with applications:
You can interact with applications using your PC’s mouse, trackpad, keyboard, pen or touch-enabled screen. Here are some tips if you are using a mouse and keyboard:
- A single click will behave the same as any touch / touch interaction
- Right-click anywhere on the phone screen to navigate to the previous page
- Clicking and holding will behave in the same way as a touch / hold interaction
- Click and hold and drag to select content
- Roll the mouse to move between pages vertically or horizontally