Despite slowing down the flow of new features to the Your Phone app, Microsoft continues developing new capabilities for the project. Analy Otero Diaz, Principal Program Manager Lead at Microsoft, revealed in their Twitter account a new feature coming soon to Your Phone.
A new version of the Your Phone app will show recently used apps from your Android phone. Windows 11 will show a popup with the three latest programs on your smartphone, allowing you to jump back in on your computer. There is also a link to view all applications.
Unfortunately, as with all the most exciting features in the Your Phone app, the new feature with the recent apps will be exclusive to Samsung smartphones. According to Microsoft, Samsung-exclusive capabilities require deeper integration between smartphones and Windows. Such integration is currently available only on Samsung smartphones. Interestingly, Microsoft does not say whether the new feature will be available for Surface Duo owners.
The banner with recently used apps on a smartphone is currently available to Windows Insiders for testing before the public rollout on Windows 10 and 11. You can access it by clicking the Your Phone icon in the notification area on the taskbar. Microsoft understands that not all users will like new popups on their screens, so it provides an option to turn off the banner. To disable it, go to Your Phone > Settings > Features > Apps, and turn off the "Show recently used apps in the Windows notification area" option.
The new banner with the recent apps is not the only way to launch apps from your smartphone on a Windows PC. The Your Phone app lets you stream Android applications from a phone to computer and pin apps to the taskbar for quick access. This feature is also available only on Samsung smartphones.
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