Microsoft has been talking about greater synchronization between Windows 10 and Android devices for a while now. We first heard about their "Your Phone" Windows app nearly a year ago, but it didn't become usable until late Summer. The app is still pretty basic compared to other services that do the same thing. One of the more exciting aspects was Android app mirroring, and now Windows Insiders can finally try out this feature.
The new feature, which is part of the Your Phone app, is called "phone screen." Once you have your Android device set up, the Windows app will show a list of your installed Android apps. You can simply click an app to start using it on the remote phone screen. The connection between the PC and phone is over Bluetooth with Low Energy Peripheral mode, which is now a requirement.
Currently, there are only a handful of phones supported as well. You will need a Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S9, or Galaxy S9+. The list of supported phones will expand as the feature gets closer to a stable release. You must be a Windows Insider in the Fast ring to receive the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18356 (19H1) with Android app mirroring. Keep in mind that this is an Insider Build and there are several known issues. This is not something you should run on your daily workhorse PC.
Phone Screen Known Issues:
- Touch input doesn’t work yet
- Always on display will not be shown on the phone screen displayed on the PC
- Blue light preferences will not be applied on the phone screen displayed on the PC
- Audio will play out of the phone speakers, not the PC
- Double-clicking may bring down notification center
- Some games and apps do not support mouse interactions (e.g. Pokémon Go, Merge Dragons, Feedly)
- If you turn on the setting to hide soft keyboard when a physical keyboard is present your soft keyboard will disappear whenever you’re within Bluetooth range of your PC regardless of the state of the Your Phone app or phone screen session