• Phone Link for Windows 11 now supports iOS devices.
• The feature grants basic iOS support for calls, messages and accessing contacts.
• Microsoft hopes to have this update rolled out to all users by mid-May.

For Android and Windows PC users, Phone Link is the app that you can use to view messages, take calls and even transfer photos and browse apps using your desktop.

Now that small percentage of people who are using an iPhone and a Windows 11 PC can also make use of Phone Link.

“With the ability to now make this PC/iOS Phone connection, we hope our Windows 11 customers will never have to worry about missing an important phone call or text while focusing on their Windows PC. Once enabled by the Windows 11 customer, Phone Link for iOS will offer basic iOS support for calls, messages and access to contacts. This means if your phone is tucked away during a presentation or focus time, you’ll receive notifications on your Windows PC and can choose which action to take – all on your Windows 11 PC,” corporate vice president of Windows and Devices, Ali Akgun, said in a statement.

Microsoft has said that it will be rolling the functionality out gradually. In order to use the solution you will need to be running iOS 14 or higher on an iPhone. To be clear, Phone Link won’t work with iPadOS or macOS devices.

In addition, image/video sharing and group messaging on iPhone is not supported. However, iCloud integration with the Windows Photos app gives users access to their gallery and screenshots on Windows.

“We know that being able to effortlessly connect to friends and family during important times is critical so we’ve taken a conservative approach to launching this update. To ensure the highest quality experience for our users, we asked our Windows Insiders to engage and provide feedback during the preview phase. We’ve heard positive feedback such as ‘this is exactly what I’ve been hoping for on my Windows PC’ and we’re excited to begin a gradual rollout to our Windows 11 audience with all users enabled by mid-May,” added Akgun.

While Phone Link support for iOS is great news, we’d really like to know where native support for Android apps on Windows has disappeared to. Billed as a tentpole feature for Windows 11, Microsoft has gone incredibly quiet about Android app support since the start of last year.

The last update about this functionality we received was in October 2022 when Microsoft began pushing out the Windows Subsystem for Android following a preview. This ability to run Android apps currently available in 31 countries but South Africa isn’t one of those countries.

At least Apple users with a Windows PC get a bit more functionality now, even if Phone Link can be rather annoying and buggy at the best of times.