Windows 11 could get a ‘Hand Off’ feature that would offer Apple-like convenience when integrating your phone and PC
Windows 11 may get another new feature to strengthen the integration between your PC and smartphone. This feature is called ‘Hand Off’.
Windows Last Commented that a Windows tester on X, @techosarusrex, pointed out the feature in a tweet after discovering the hidden capability in a recent preview of Windows 11 (build 22635) in the Beta Channel.
Windows 11 is getting some new persistent device/handoff capabilities (seen in build 22635.4225) pic.twitter.com/kOMNYUJGDmSeptember 21, 2024
Windows Latest notes that the Hand Off feature appears to be related to the “Continue from Phone” functionality that the tech site wrote about a few months ago (also in testing).
Either way, X’s screenshots give us more clues about how it might work. Namely, there are settings to control which apps can use Hand Off (currently, just OneDrive), and a toggle to turn the Hand Off feature itself on (or off).
The idea is that when Hand Off is available — meaning you can continue what you were doing on your phone on your PC instead of when you sit back down at your computer — an icon will appear in the taskbar to let you know. As shown, when you sit back down at your PC, you can, for example, pick up work on a document you were previously editing on your phone.
As far as we can tell, this capability won’t be limited to Android phones, and you should be able to continue your activity from an iPhone as well (we don’t see why not). While OneDrive is currently the only option to use with Hand Off, this is still very early (as-yet-hidden) work in testing – so broader support for more apps could yet be introduced.
How does Hand Off fit in with Continue from Phone?
How exactly Continue from Phone and Hand Off are linked remains to be seen – the latter could even be the new name for the former. It’s clear that they’re tightly linked, but we’ll just have to wait for more details on exactly how Hand Off will work (assuming it ever goes live in testing). It’s possible that Hand Off will work both ways, meaning you could also pick up activity from your PC on your phone.
Some of you may have noticed the similarities between this hidden Windows 11 feature and Apple’s “Handoff” functionality, which allows users to seamlessly continue activities between their iPhone, iPad, and Mac. For example, with Apple’s Handoff, you can start an email on your iPhone and pick up where you left off on your Mac.
Windows 11’s Continue from Phone and Hand Off features aim for a similarly seamless experience, but what will be interesting is that while Apple’s Handoff is tied to its iCloud ecosystem, Microsoft’s version will only be usable with OneDrive. Or, as mentioned above, whether support will be made more extensive.
A smoother and more robust integration between Windows 11 and smartphones will give users a reason to stick with the OS. I think it will prove fruitful if Microsoft focuses on improving this aspect.
