Windows 11’s new taskbar Search can now launch apps that live on your Android phone. In a test build for Insiders, typing an app’s name brings up a result marked Mobile app, and clicking Open starts it on the phone and shows it on the PC.
Microsoft has not announced the feature. Its notes for the latest test build mention only calling, texting and toggling Do Not Disturb from Search, so the phone-apps result is a hidden extra for now and could change before any wider release.
How it behaved in testing
Windows Latest found it on a Surface Laptop paired with a Samsung Galaxy A26. Searching for Bluesky put a Mobile app result at the top of the list, and Open launched the app on the phone while a Phone screen window appeared on the PC. The app is not installed on Windows. It keeps running on the phone, with the PC supplying the bigger screen, keyboard and mouse. The tester only checked that one app and did not judge how reliable it is.
You could already open phone apps through Phone Link and pin them to Start or the taskbar. Search removes the step of opening Phone Link first. This follows the phone actions that arrived in Search on Saturday, which Microsoft says work on Android now and will reach iPhone early next year.
Which phones qualify
App streaming is limited. Microsoft’s Phone Link apps page says it works on select Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, ASUS, vivo and Xiaomi phones that have Link to Windows preinstalled. Being able to pair a phone for calls and messages does not guarantee app streaming.
The new Search itself is a gradual rollout in the Experimental channel, with English as the only supported language. Microsoft has not said when phone actions will reach everyone.
