iOS will finally get another basic Android feature, thanks to Microsoft

Summary

File sharing between iPhone and Windows PC is easier than ever with Microsoft’s updated Phone Link app.
Apple has excelled in simplifying file sharing processes between its devices, but it’s always been a little difficult between iOS and Windows.
Collaboration between major competitors like Apple and Microsoft benefits users of both platforms in the long term.

Smartphone features are like jazz. So many parts are copied, slightly reworked, and repurposed from one act to another that we can hardly trace their true origin. Apple brought gesture control to the mobile sphere, right? What about Huawei’s Android 5-based EMUI 3 and its swipe navigation? Forget smartphones — the 2009 Palm Pre actually did it first in 2009.

The only thing more bemusing than simple-but-absent features is how personally they’re taken by fervent fans of one operating system or another. But Apple’s resistance to cross-platform compatibility is no secret. So, however minor it may be, it’s noteworthy that Apple is allowing Microsoft to fully implement wireless file sharing between iPhones and Windows PCs using the software behemoth’s Phone Link app (Microsoft via TechCrunch on BlueSky).

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That’s pretty, but no, the other Windows.

Accessory ecosystem aside, macOS and iOS deliver considerably different experiences. And fans of a wide range of game genres often don’t have a choice but to use a Windows PC for entertainment. Android built USB file transfer into the OS sometime around the big bang. But it’s always been a bit of hassle moving music and images between Windows machines and iPhones.

To the delight of cross-platform electronics enjoyers, Microsoft has begun rolling out Windows updates to enable wireless file transfer using the Phone Link app. It works with iOS 16 and newer, and you’ll need a relatively recent version of iOS’s Link to Windows app and Microsoft’s Phone Link software. For now, it’s only available to those registered with the Windows Insider Program, an opt-in service that gives dedicated (and slightly brave) users early access to new features, although it will eventually reach the public build.

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For better or worse, we’re past the days when using powerful Windows programs (remember when they were all called programs?) called for an in-depth understanding of folder structures and operating system idiosyncrasies. Once Link to Windows is installed on your iPhone, set up Phone Link on your PC by simply following the prompts.

If it’s your first time connecting to Windows, you’ll gain file sharing access during this initial process. If you’ve mated the two devices previously, navigate to https://aka.ms/addAccount on your PC to add the functionality. After that, simply select the iPhone files you want to transfer, use the standard Share feature, and tap “Link to Windows,” followed by your PC’s name. On PC, select the files, right-click, click Share, and then My Phone or Phone Link. It’s easy and relatively fast.

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This isn’t iOS Police, and we don’t spend much time on iOS tutorials. But we must give credit where it’s due. Moving files between Apple devices has always been easy as pie, whether they’re desktops, laptops, tablets, or phones. Android devices? Not so much. Wireless transfer between Android phones and literally any other computing device has always been spotty. And between Android and macOS, just forget it, although one of my wise colleagues did recently plead for Quick Share on macOS, and a hidden code comment indicates it might someday happen.

AirDrop ends up the butt of various slightly funny memes, but it’s been a dead-simple way to distribute files between iPhones and Mac PCs for over a decade. Since 2019, Apple users have been able to move data between the two form factors straight from the Finder (that’s the macOS equivalent of File Explorer, for all you non-Apple users snooping). Apple has always gone out of its way to streamline the pairing and transfer processes. That’s part of its whole ethos.

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iOS shares a lot with macOS, but Android isn’t Windows, and its fragmented ecosystem means it’s been a chore for many users to transfer data without a USB cable. And wireless transfer between Android devices? While theoretically possible for a long time, it’s been somewhat of a joke until just the last couple of years. In fact, not until June 2024 did Windows allow PC-to-smartphone transfer with just a few clicks using Phone Link.

So, we point this out partly to advise those who dabble in both systems that they now have options. We also appreciate the two longtime competitors working together for a change. It was a long time ago that “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads drove a bitter, lasting wedge between users of the major desktop platforms. It’s more worthwhile than ever for Android fans to recognize that if Windows devotees can be friends with Apple fanboys, so can followers of the little green robot. After all, can’t we all just get along?

Eh, probably not.