Microsoft’s Your Phone and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip are a wonderful match

Android Central

Android Central
Android Central
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and the Surface Pro X are a mobile power team.

Screens that fold and PCs that can make phone calls are no longer things of the future.

Over the weekend, I was one of the lucky few to have my Samsung
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
order ship from Best Buy. The folding phone is not
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, but it is also
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
of many early adopters brave enough to plop down $1,400.

I'll review the Galaxy Z Flip and detail how it works with Microsoft's Android app suite in the coming weeks, but for now, I want to talk about Windows 10's Your Phone feature and how it has me intrigued and especially exited for the upcoming
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

Game changer

Your Phone Companion


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Merging phones and PCs

Your Phone allows you to sync text messages, photos, and notifications from your phone to your Windows 10 PC. Now, when used with Galaxy 20 series phones, it supports RCS messages.

Next generation

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Another way to think about foldables

The Galaxy Z Flip takes a modern smartphone shape and lets you fold it in half. There are compromises aplenty, namely in price and potential screen fragility, but this foldable gets closer to being a well-rounded phone than any other.

Your Phone improved a lot since 2018


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


When Microsoft announced Your Phone
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, I gave it a quick spin. Early on, there wasn't a lot it could do, making it less than truly useful. Later, I switched to the iPhone 11 mostly full-time, though I still used Android on the side.

And even though I have a Samsung
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
kicking around, I never used Your Phone full-time even after Samsung and Microsoft
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
. When combined with removed support for the iPhone due to Apple not cooperating with the project, I just never made use of Your Phone.

So, here I am seven months after
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, using it with a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.

And it's amazing.

Your Phone seamless integration


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Wireless screen mirroring lets you operating the Galaxy Z Flip with a mouse and keyboard.

Samsung phones now ship with Your Phone built in, including the S10 and S20 series. The feature is under Link to Windows in Settings, and it gives the whole experience a more natural feel compared to other Android devices.

I'm amazed at how well Your Phone works with Z Flip.

On the PC side, Your Phone is regularly updated. For those on the Windows Insider Release Preview program, you get version 1.19123.19.0, which is different from production. There's a new killer feature that lets your phone display go black to save battery life (and reduce the dual-screen effect) when mirroring. Before, when you screen mirrored, your phone's display would stay on the whole time, which is not battery-friendly (and it's distracting).

With the Galaxy Z Flip, Your Phone supports all the major features including:

  • Messages — Make and receive SMS texts.
  • Notifications — Receive all, none, or some of your phone's notifications on your PC.
  • Phone calls — Use your PC's microphone and speakers to handle phone calls.
  • Photos — Show up to 2,000 of your latest photos and screenshots, which you can then save and share on the PC.
  • Phone screen — Run your phone through the PC, including launching apps, typing, and more.

You can even copy text from your PC and paste it to the phone directly.

Granted, the Galaxy Z Flip is not (yet) on the map for the recently announced
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
through Your Phone, though hopefully that happens soon, too.

I've been amazed at how fast using Your Phone with the Galaxy Z Flip has been. Calls work perfectly, screen mirroring is almost instant, and the ability to grab my pics while on a laptop or desktop PC is extremely useful. I can even switch between the HP
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
and work on my
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
without skipping a beat.

Flipped screens and Surface Duo


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


While I'll save my thoughts on the Z Flip's hardware for the full review, I'll say that using it with the screen propped open at a 90-degree angle like a mini-laptop is fascinating.

When I'm not screen mirroring, the Galaxy Z Flip has an always-on-display that shows my calendar appointments, time, notifications, and more. While many smartphones have the same features, they lay flat on your desk, resulting in some neck work to see what's happening. With the Z Flip's articulated screen, it's much more glance-and-go.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
The Windows Insider version of Your Phone brings a screen blackout feature when mirroring.

All of this makes me wonder how the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
will operate. Though it has dual displays (instead of a foldable one), it too can be articulated with one of the screens at a 90-degree angle. Microsoft hasn't talked much about what all the postures can do with the Duo, but being able to display information ("second screening") while working at a PC would be very beneficial. Things like always-on-display are crucial for such an experience.

I haven't been this excited about new tech in a long time.

Hopefully, Microsoft is thinking about how Your Phone and the Surface Duo can be best maximized for work, productivity, and features. The company can now fully control the Android experience meaning Your Phone should be at least as good as Samsung's, but hopefully even better.

The future of mobile is very exciting


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Like most modern phones the Galaxy Z Flip has a useful always-on-display feature.

Whatever your thoughts on
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, it's clear we're in for some possible paradigm shifts. Microsoft and Samsung are leading the charge, and how we think about phones, PCs, 5G, and working mobile could radically change as this tech evolves.

It's much too early to declare the Galaxy Z Flip a winner, but when combined with Microsoft's Your Phone (and the potential of dual-screen PCs), I haven't been this excited about tech in a long time. Seriously.

Your Phone Companion


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Merging phones and PCs

Your Phone allows you to sync text messages, photos, and notifications from your phone to your Windows 10 PC. Now, when used with Galaxy 20 series phones, it supports RCS messages.

Next generation

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Another way to think about foldables.

The Galaxy Z Flip takes a modern smartphone shape and lets you fold it in half. There are compromises aplenty, namely in price and potential screen fragility, but this foldable gets closer to being a well-rounded phone than any other.

xEdumA3fYTM


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top