As part of the partnership with Microsoft, Samsung announced during the Galaxy Note 20 launch in August last year that the Your Phone app would soon support multiple apps running on Windows. After the announcement, Microsoft had started rolling out the feature to users who opted for the Windows Insider program in November. The feature has recently become generally available to all users with selected Samsung smartphones.
According to Analy Otero Diaz, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, the multi-app experience in the Your Phone app is now available to all users using the Windows 10 May 2020 Update or later. There are some conditions to be able to use multiple apps from your Samsung device via your phone in Windows. These include the following:
- The latest Windows 10 May 2020 update or later. It is recommended to update to the latest version of Windows 10. You can check and update by going to Settings> Updates & security> Check for updates
- A recommended 8 GB of RAM on your Windows PC
- The latest version of the Your Phone app on your Windows PC with version 1.20102.132.0 or higher
- Your phone 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 Windows service with version 2.1.05.2 or higher. This can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store
- Both the phone and PC must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network
While Microsoft mentions that you need an Android 11 device to enable support for multiple apps on your phone, not all Android 11 devices are supported. On a separate page, Microsoft lists all supported smartphones, which currently contain only a few Samsung devices. Here’s the full 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
To run multiple Android apps on Windows with your phone:
- Once you have fulfilled all of the above requirements, open the Your Phone app on your Windows PC
- The app will ask you to choose between Android or iPhone. Select Android and click Continue
- Then you will be prompted to install / update the latest version of Your Phone Companion app on your Samsung smartphone by going to this link (www.aks.ms/yourpc)
- After installing / updating the corresponding app on your phone, confirm the same in your phone app on your PC and open the QR code
- On your supported Samsung smartphone, go to Settings> Advanced features and go to Link to Windows
- Enable the service and tap Add computer and use the phone’s camera to scan the QR code displayed in the Your Phone app on your PC
- Sign in to your Microsoft account and wait for a confirmation to connect your phone to your PC
- You should now be able to see your phone in the Your Phone PC app
- Go to the Apps section on the left to access all the apps installed on your phone
How to deal with apps:
You can interact with apps using the mouse, trackpad, keyboard, pen or touch screen of your PC. Here are some tips if you’re using a mouse and keyboard:
- A single click behaves the same as a single touch / tap interaction
- Right click anywhere on your phone screen to go to the previous page
- Click and hold behaves the same as a tap / hold interaction
- Click and hold and drag to select content
- Scroll the mouse to scroll vertically or horizontally between pages