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Windows 11 will let you access your iPhone and share its files from the Start menu

2025 January 29
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Microsoft is integrating your iPhone into the Start menu of Windows 11 to let you access your messages and calls, view battery stats, share files and more.

You’ll be able to browse your iPhone from a side panel in the Start menu, which has been available to Android owners since the Windows 11 2024 update last year.

Also coming: sharing files between iPhone and Android devices via the Start menu and the native Share menu in Windows 11. In testing since December 2024, this feature will make it much easier to wirelessly transfer photos, videos and documents between your iPhone, Android handset and PC without using any apps or resorting to trickery. To begin transferring, hit “Send Files” in the Start menu’s side panel.

Accessing your iPhone from Windows 11’s Start menu

The company announced the upcoming feature on the Windows Insiders blog. “To get started, open the Start menu and select the device type (Android or iPhone) from the right-side pane,” it explains. “Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your device with the PC and start accessing your phone from the Start Menu in no time.”

A panel in Windows 11's Start menu for accessing iPhone messages and calls, with a Send Files button at the bottom.

The feature is being tested, and Microsoft plans to roll it out to all Windows 11 users in the coming months. To try it right now, you’ll need to sign up for the Windows Insider Program which lets you access prerelease software. Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels can currently access this feature.

iPhone integration in the Start menu requires that your PC be signed in with a Microsoft account and support Bluetooth LE. This capability takes advantage of Microsoft’s Phone Link feature, which not only lets you receive iMessages and notifications from iPhone on Windows machines but also reply to them.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/01/29/microsoft-windows-11-start-menu-iphone-integration-testing/

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