Microsoft begins testing iPhone file sharing for Windows PCs

Microsoft has began testing some enhancements to its Phone Link app for iPhone customers. Windows Insiders can now check out a brand new technique to share a file from an iPhone to a PC and vice versa, making the expertise a bit of extra like file sharing with an Android machine.

Windows Insiders can obtain the newest Phone Link app replace, model 1.24112.89.0 or greater, and it’ll embody a brand new setup dialog to allow sharing information between iPhones and PCs. The sharing works by utilizing the share sheet on iOS to ship information to the “Link to Windows” app, which then lets you choose a Windows machine to share the file with.

On a Windows PC it’s also possible to share native information by proper clicking on a file and deciding on share after which “my telephone” to get a file out of your PC to your iPhone.

Microsoft has been progressively bettering its Phone Link app for each iOS and Android lately, however the iOS model continues to be very restricted because of Apple’s OS restrictions. Last yr Microsoft did handle to replace Phone Link with the power to ship and obtain messages by way of iMessage. Even this integration is restricted although, solely supporting sending and receiving messages to single contacts and never teams (by way of iMessage).

You nonetheless can’t use the Phone Link app to reflect telephone apps onto your PC like you may with Android, and you must have the app open for messages to be despatched over iMessage as Microsoft is utilizing a Bluetooth and system notifications workaround to learn ship messages.

The newest file sharing replace is reside now for Windows Insiders and may begin rolling out to all Phone Link customers within the coming months.