While Phone Link works with both Android and iOS devices, some of its standout features are exclusive to Samsung Galaxy phones, providing better integration and productivity improvements. So, if you have a Samsung phone, make sure you use these features.
1. Copy and paste across multiple devices
Cross-device copying and pasting lets you share your phone and computer clipboards for the most recently copied items, such as text, images, and URLs. This is a handy feature when you want to copy URLs or blocks of text between devices instantly.
Cross-device copy and paste in Phone Link is limited to Samsung devices running One UI 2.1 or later. To enable this feature, pair your compatible Samsung phone with the Phone Link app, then activate the option in Settings.
In the Phone Link app, click the gear icon in the upper right corner to open it Settings. Then open the tab Features. In section Additional settingsturn it on Cross-device copy and paste. Recently copied items from your Windows PC will be accessible on your Samsung phone and vice versa.
Those using non-Samsung devices can use third-party apps like Clipt to sync the clipboard across both Android and Windows PCs.
2. Transfer files by drag and drop
Another exclusive feature of Phone Link is the ability to transfer files between your PC and smartphone with a simple drag and drop gesture. For example, when projecting your phone's screen to your PC, you can drag and drop photos from your phone's Gallery app to your desktop.
Dragging files from a Windows PC to a Samsung device works the same way; You can drag and drop a file into the projection window and your phone will save it in the My Files app.
3. RCS messaging
Phone Link makes it easy to send and receive text messages directly from your desktop. It even lets you use iMessage on Windows. However, Samsung users also get support for Rich Communication Service (RCS) messaging service on Phone Link.
With RCS enabled, you can send and receive more interactive messages similar to instant messaging apps like WhatsApp. You can reply to texts with emojis and send audio, video, and image messages.
RCS messaging in Phone Link is only supported when Samsung Messages is the default messaging app on your phone. While RCS messaging also supports read and typing recipient indicators, Phone Link does not yet support it.
4. Instant Hotspot
While you can share your phone's Internet connection with your PC via tethering, Instant Hotspot simplifies the process further by allowing you to turn on your Samsung device's hotspot directly from your computer.
To set up Instant Hotspot, launch Phone Link and click the gear icon in the upper right corner to access Settings. Then open the tab Features in the left pane. Scroll down to the section Additional Settings and click Setup Instant Hotspot. In the Mobile hotspot permissions dialog box, click Send notifications.
On a Samsung phone, tap Allow. Once done, go back to your PC, click the network icon on the taskbar and select the icon > next to Wi-Fi quick settings to see a list of available networks. Select mobile hotspot, then click Connect to turn on the hotspot and connect to your phone's Wi-Fi network.
Like projecting your phone's screen to your PC, some OnePlus devices also support the Instant Hotspot feature. However, this feature is mainly only available on Samsung phones.
5. Project your phone screen to your PC
Phone screen is a Phone Link feature that allows you to project your phone screen to your PC. When connected, you can remotely access and interact with apps from your phone, providing a great way to perform many tasks directly from your PC.
Although projecting your phone's screen to PC is mainly available on Samsung phones, some Android manufacturers also support this feature on certain models. Popular Samsung devices that feature phone screen projection on PC include the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy S21 and newer models, as well as lower-end models like the Galaxy A51 and above.
Additionally, some devices from brands like Huawei, OnePlus, and Asus come pre-installed Link to Devicewhich allows phone screen projection functionality on a limited number of their devices. You can check out the full list of supported phone screen devices on Microsoft's support page.
These are some Windows Phone Link features that are mainly available only on Samsung Galaxy phones. However, hopefully Microsoft will expand these features to all Android phones to help improve the Android-Windows integration that Google's ecosystem currently lacks.
