- Windows 11 24H2 introduced a Start menu side panel for Android users
- This same panel is now in testing for iPhone owners
- A couple of other capabilities are being added, including a button to swiftly and conveniently send files from your PC to your phone
Windows 11 users with an iPhone who were jealous of Android’s additional integration in the Start menu will doubtless be pleased to see that Apple smartphones are getting a very similar treatment.
If you recall, Android phone owners got this perk courtesy of the Windows 11 24H2 update, which introduced a floating side panel just off the Start menu. This contains details on the mobile’s battery level, alongside functionality such as the ability to listen to voice messages, view photos, and continue recent activities.
It’s quite a raft of extra abilities bolted onto the Start menu, and now Microsoft is giving iPhone users much the same thing, albeit in testing to begin with.
Microsoft notes in a blog post: “This seamless integration allows iPhone users to enjoy the same benefits as Android users, including the ability to view phone’s battery status and connectivity, ability to access messages and calls, and keeping track of the latest activities, all conveniently integrated into the Start menu.”
As well as this, there’s another new feature at the bottom of this side panel, a convenient button to ‘Send files’ instantly from your PC to an Android device or iPhone.
Finally, Microsoft has also made it so those who haven’t got the Start menu side panel up and running yet get a quick setup process presented to them.
Analysis: A fair bet for a (relatively) swift release
This is for Windows Insiders (testers) to start with, those in the Beta or Dev channels initially. It’s worth noting that this Start menu feature, for both Android and iPhone users, relies on the Phone Link app (and Bluetooth LE). So, you’ll need a recent version of Phone Link installed to use it (v1.24121.30.0 or better).
Not every feature that’s introduced to preview builds makes the cut for release, but with this functionality, I can’t see that Microsoft would abandon it. That would hardly seem fair on iPhone users, after all, and there are a lot of them (even if the number still pales in comparison to those on Android devices globally).
I’d expect this to proceed through testing relatively swiftly then, to be introduced in the nearer term, assuming all goes well in preview builds, that is.
Via The Verge
