Microsoft created Windows application For iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows, and web browsers. The app essentially takes the previous Windows 365 app and turns it into a central hub for streaming a copy of Windows from a remote PC, Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, and Microsoft’s Remote Desktop services.
Microsoft supports multiple displays through its Windows application, custom display resolution and scaling, and device redirection for peripherals such as webcams, storage devices, and printers. However, the preview version of the Windows app is currently not available for Android.
The Windows app is also limited to Microsoft’s suite of business accounts, but there are indications it will be available to consumers as well. The sign-in prompt on the Windows app on Windows (yes, that’s an exaggeration) suggests that you can access the app using a personal Microsoft account, but that functionality isn’t working at the moment.
Microsoft has had similar apps for connecting to computers remotely for decades, most notably through the Remote Desktop Connection app that comes with Windows. The dedicated “Windows app” is unusual branding, and could signal that Microsoft’s broader ambitions to move Windows entirely to the cloud are underway.
Microsoft has created a new web-focused Windows team after Panos Panai, the former head of Surface and Windows, left the company and moved to Amazon in September. The new “Windows and Web Experiences” team appears to be largely focused on building AI-powered web services for Windows. We’ve already seen a number of web-powered features appear in Windows 11, with the main search interface dynamically updating from the web, the widgets system, and even Copilot integration.
During the Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft We heard, we learned, Microsoft wants to move Windows entirely to the cloud on the consumer side, something it already offers for businesses using Windows 365. The Windows app could pave the way for consumers to access cloud PCs and Windows apps on non-Microsoft devices.
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