Microsoft has added an analogue of AirDrop to Windows for exchanging files between a PC and an Android smartphone

Microsoft is trying to keep up with Apple in terms of the functionality of its operating system, but macOS computers still have features that Windows devices don’t have. Soon there will be one less such function, as Microsoft has added an analogue of AirDrop to Windows for quickly sharing files between PCs and the user’s mobile devices.

Image source: Future

According to reports, Windows 11 and Windows 10 have introduced a tool that works similar to AirDrop on Apple devices. This is also confirmed by the appearance of a page dedicated to the new function on the Microsoft website. As you’d expect, the file transfer tool between Android and Windows works through the Phone Link app.

After synchronizing the devices, you just need to right-click on the file that you want to send to your smartphone, select the “Share” option in the menu that appears, and then select Phone Link. After this, the user-selected file will be transferred to the mobile device synchronized with the PC. In this case, the smartphone will not need to give additional permission to receive data from the computer, which is logical, since the synchronization process via Phone Link has already been completed.

As for system requirements, you can transfer files between a PC and an Android smartphone if you have Windows 10 with updates from May 2019 or later, as well as Windows 11. In addition, the user must have a mobile device with Android 9.0 or later version, as well as Link to Windows application 1.24032.518.0 or later. Link Phone app 1.24032.156.0 or later must be installed on your computer.

File transfer between PC and Android smartphone is currently being tested by Insiders on the Release Preview channel. This could mean that the feature is close to widespread distribution, but when this will happen is still unknown.