Microsoft is introducing iMessage to Windows through its Phone Connect application. Today, Windows Insiders will get a glimpse of the new application. The PhoneLink program enables iPhone users to connect their handsets to a Windows laptop or desktop computer. With the upgrade, iPhone users will be able to send and receive iMessages, make and receive phone calls, and view their phone’s alerts in Windows 11.
Microsoft links Windows devices to iPhones via Bluetooth, delivering orders and messages to the Messages (iMessage) app. This means you’ll be able to mail contacts directly from your computer to iPhones, although there are restrictions. You will no longer be able to send photos in messages or participate in group chats. PC users will see their iMessages conversations in a simplified form, as shown in the PhoneLink app screenshot at the top of this article.
Additionally, you won’t see the full message history in a conversation, as only messages sent or received through the phone link will be displayed. Microsoft doesn’t use blue or green bubbles in the phone link because businesses can’t differentiate between a traditional text message and iMessage.
Microsoft has never supported messaging or phone calls for iPhone users before, so this is a positive development. Although PhoneLink is included with Windows 11, its native compared to PCLink apps from Intel, Dell and others.
While PhoneLink won’t have any Image connectivity, the Windows 11 Photos app currently features iCloud Photos integration. It is conceivable that PhoneLink will add this feature in the future. This new Phone Link functionality is part of a larger new Windows 11 upgrade that includes AI-powered Bing on the taskbar, a screen recording feature, and touch optimization, among other features.
If you’re interested in testing this new PhoneLink support for iOS, it will be accessible to Windows Insiders in the Dev, Beta, and Release Preview channels, but only a “small portion” of testers will be able to access it. Access will be available weekly. “We will expand the availability of the preview to additional Insiders over time and based on the input we hear from this initial group of Insiders,” Microsoft’s Windows team writes in a blog post.