Windows 11 is getting a handy new feature that’ll enable Android phone users to easily continue their activity on a PC.
The feature, spotted in a demo at Build 2025 is similar to the macOS Handoff feature that enables iOS users to easily transfer what they’re doing on mobile to their MacBook or iMac.
In this instance, it’ll be called Cross Device Resume. Users might see a badge pop up on an app in a Windows taskbar when the mobile app is in use. Clicking on that badge will launch the Windows 11 app and enable the user to continue the action they began on mobile.
“When you open the app on your mobile device or tablet, Windows can show a subtle badge right on your app’s taskbar icon,” said senior product manager Aakash Varshney during in a now-deleted part of a video presentation.
So, in the case of the Spotify app you may be using on your Android phone, clicking/tapping the badge in the taskbar will open the app on the desktop and begin playing the same song at the same point.
“Spotify launches and I’m instantly back in the same song, now playing on my PC,” says Varshney. “No need to search or start over, it’s a smooth one-click transition that keeps the music and user experience uninterrupted.”
A report from Windows Central, which spotted the feature, says WhatsApp will be one of the other apps to support, while developers will also be able to integrate it within their apps.
The launch of this feature represents a long journey to such a feature, with Project Rome announced in 2020 but never coming to fruition.
Opinion
Considering Microsoft has to interface with Android apps to make this feature work through some sort of cloud communication, it’s likely taken a while to get all of the ducks in a row. I use this on Mac most days, for example, when I’m typing in the Notes app on my iPhone, I’ll open the Mac and use it there, where its easy to type.
Still, I’ve been able to do this on my Mac for a decade so it’s about time Microsoft got an equivalent sorted. Maybe if it spend less time piddling about with this Copilot+ stuff no-one really wants.
