Windows 11 Will Let You Read and Reply to Your Phone’s Messages Right From the Start Menu

Microsoft wants you to stop picking up your phone every time it buzzes while you are working on your laptop. The company is building its Phone Link features directly into Windows 11, so messages, calls and notifications from your phone show up in the Start menu, Quick Settings and their own windows on the PC.

The idea, as Microsoft puts it, is to let you see what needs your attention, deal with it, and get back to work, without your phone coming out of your pocket.

Your Bank OTPs Could Soon Pop Up in the Windows 11 Start Menu

Photo Credit: Photo by Georgiy Lyamin on Unsplash

Your phone's messages move into the Start menu

The Start menu will now preview messages and notifications from a linked Android phone or iPhone. Click on a conversation and it opens in a separate chat window, where you can type a reply. Microsoft's demo video shows a full list of conversations, group chats, and photos and GIFs being shared from the PC.

Quick Settings is also getting phone controls. You can silence your phone from the laptop, or make it ring if you cannot find it under a pile of cushions.

Android phones get the bigger upgrade

Android users get several extras that iPhone users do not. On supported phones, you can open Android apps in their own resizable windows on the desktop, browse your phone's files in File Explorer and send files from the PC to the phone. A new photo you click on your phone can also be opened straight from a notification on the PC.

Microsoft says features will vary between Android and iPhone, but it has not listed exactly what iPhone owners will get. Phone Link support for iPhone has always been more limited, because Apple keeps a tight grip on iMessage. Microsoft has also not named which Android phones are supported, and in the past the apps feature has worked best on Samsung phones.

What this means for Indian users

For most people in India, the obvious question is WhatsApp. These messaging features deal with your phone's texts, not WhatsApp chats. WhatsApp already has its own Windows app, and that is still the way to use it on a PC.

Where this does help is with SMS. Almost every bank transfer, UPI payment and app login in India sends an OTP by text. Seeing those in the Start menu while you are on your laptop, instead of hunting for your phone, is the kind of small change Indian users will notice every day.

Microsoft has not shared a release date. It says the changes are starting to roll out and more will follow, and they will depend on your PC and phone.