Windows 11 could soon get a cool feature to seamlessly link your Android phone to the Start menu – and a nifty gamepad perk, too
A new preview for Windows 11 version 23H2 has been released with some useful additions in terms of new features, including one that Phone Link fans are sure to enjoy.
This is sample version of build 22631 (also known as KB5044380 in Microsoft’s documentation) and it has arrived in the Release Preview channel of the Windows Insider program. In other words, this is the last test channel before release, which means that the features in it should theoretically appear as part of the November cumulative update for the 23rd half of the year.
One of the most interesting developments is in the phone area, and this means that if you have an Android device connected to your PC via the Phone Link app, you will soon be able to access content on your mobile directly from Windows 11. Start menu. You can check your phone’s battery status, listen to voice messages and view photos, and continue recent activities you were in the middle of on your handset – all right from the Start menu.
To take advantage of this, as mentioned, you’ll need to have Phone Link set up on your Android phone, and at the moment this is an Android-only affair (Microsoft says iOS support will be available soon, though). This feature is managed in the Settings app, which is where you need to go Institutions > Personalization > Start.
More features and fixes are coming for Windows 11
If you use an Xbox controller with your PC, build 22631 brings a new on-screen keyboard that lets you type with the controller, as well as shortcuts that use the gamepad’s buttons (for example, the ‘X’ button is backspace).
With the broader Windows 11 interface, this preview also lets you prevent apps from showing suggestions to disable notifications.
Additionally, newer PCs with a ‘Copilot’ key can now customize this key to do something other than launch the AI Assistant, so it can be programmed to open a specific app. (Mind you, with some limitations: this only works with signed MSIX apps, as we discussed when this feature was noted in an earlier test channel).
Build 22631 also provides fixes for several bugs in Windows 11 and Microsoft apps, including an issue with Microsoft Teams, a battery drain issue on some devices in standby mode, and a fix for issues with multifunction printers.
This is a very solid and thankfully uncontroversial update that brings useful new ways to link your phone and Windows 11 PC, and also addresses several bugs and performance issues. This is the kind of Windows 11 update I can get behind and as mentioned, these features will hopefully arrive in the November 23H2 update.
