Windows 11 is Getting the Ability to Resume Activity From Android Apps
Microsoft is testing the ability to resume activity from Android apps on a Windows 11 PC. Windows Insiders on the Dev and Beta Channel can now test the new feature with the Spotify Android app, with Windows 11 now offering to resume or continue listening right from where they left off.
As you may remember, Microsoft first introduced a similar cross-device continuity feature for its OneDrive app. On Windows 11 version 24H2, users can now see a notification asking them if they want to continue editing a OneDrive file they last viewed on their phone before unlocking their PC.
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The Windows 11 Dev build 26200.5761 and Beta build 26120.5761 introduce a similar experience for Spotify. When listening to a song or podcast on the Spotify Android app, Windows 11 will display a “Resume from your phone” notification that will invite users to either launch the Spotify app or install it if it’s not already present.
To try this feature, Insiders on the Dev and Beta Channels will need to turn on “Allow this PC to access your mobile devices” in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices and connect their Android phone. The experience also requires the Link to Windows app to be set up on the paired Android phone. “After everything is all set up – just open Spotify on your phone and play a track to receive the resume alert on your PC’s taskbar,” the Windows Insider team explained.
Microsoft is inviting app developers to implement this cross-device functionality into their Android and Windows apps. Apple devices offer a similar “Handoff” feature that lets Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users continue tasks on other devices on apps that support that capability.
The new Windows 11 Dev and Beta builds Microsoft released today also introduce new battery and percentage icons on the lock screen, a new pinning option for apps in the Windows Share window, and other improvements for AI features on Copilot+ PCs. There’s a new way to invoke Click to Do on a touch screen by pressing and holding two fingers anywhere on the screen. Microsoft also simplified the settings controls and added streamlined ways to configure Automatic Super Resolution directly from toast notifications.
As often, all these new features will be rolling out gradually to Insiders who have turned on the Windows Update toggle to get the latest features as soon as they’re available.
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