It's the moment that many thought would never come: iPhones can now be connected to Windows 11 computers to read iMessages and make calls. Until now, this was only possible with Android phones. — Photo: Bernd Diekjobst/dpa
BERLIN: For the first time in the decades-long rivalry between Microsoft and Apple, you can now connect an iPhone to a Windows computer and get useful features.
Making phone calls, reading and writing iMessages, viewing contacts and receiving notifications about incoming calls and messages is now all finally possible when you plug an iPhone into a Windows 11 computer.
However, access to photos, videos and apps - which many Android smartphones connected to Windows also allow - remains out of bounds for iPhones on Windows. (For this, you'll still need to enter Apple's "walled garden" of products and get a MacBook.) The process also won't be quite as seamless as when you connect two Apple products, and you will need to install the Link to Windows app, which has been available for Android for some time and recently also for iOS.
In addition, you'll also need to be running iOS 14 as the operating system on your iPhone and connect up via Bluetooth connection. You'll also have to sign in to your Microsoft account (and create one if you don't have one already). According to Microsoft, the feature does not work with iPads.
On Windows, the necessary programme is called Phone Link and is part of Windows 11. However, the software still has to be updated so that it offers an iPhone pairing in addition to the Android connection once it is opened.
Microsoft says it plans a gradual rollout by mid-May. It may be possible to speed up the update process for your own computer if you set Windows 11 to install updates immediately.
To do this, click on "Start" at the bottom left, then on "Settings/Windows Update". There you will find an entry to get the latest updates as soon as they are available under "More options". Here the switch must be set to "On". – dpa
