Microsoft began testing iMessage on Windows in February through its Phone Link app. The company also promised to make Phone Link available for iPhone users by mid-May. Microsoft has fulfilled its promise by releasing Phone Link for iOS to all Windows 11 users. This means that Windows 10 users, who still make up the majority of Windows users, will not be able to use this feature.
Phone Link for iOS and iMessage is now available on Windows 11
Microsoft announced on May 15 that its Phone Link app will now support iPhones. This means that iPhone owners can now connect their phones to a Windows 11 PC and send and receive messages directly into their computers.
Other than sending and receiving messages, Phone Link also allows users to make and receive calls, view call history, and view and dismiss notifications. Unfortunately, you cannot run phone apps or view photos from your iPhone on your PC through Phone Link.
Gizchina News of the week
The new Phone Link app update is currently available in 85 countries. Microsoft has not released a list of which countries are included. But We anticipate that it will add more countries to the list in the near future. To check if the update is available in your region, you can try to install the Phone Link app from the Microsoft Store.
How does it work?
You might know Apple has not allowed iMessage to be used on other platforms, such as Windows, because it wants to keep users in its ecosystem. But Microsoft has found a workaround to bring iMessage to Windows.
The workaround uses Bluetooth to connect an iPhone to a Windows 11 computer. This allows users to do basic activities like sending and receiving messages, make and receive calls, and see notifications from their iPhones on their Windows computers. But there are some limitations to this workaround. For example, you cannot view your full chat history or take part in group iMessage conversations. Additionally, you cannot share images or videos. Now, that’s quite a bummer.
