Microsoft Announces iMessage Support on Windows With Several Limitations
Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC.
Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the iPhone, users can send and receive iMessages and SMS text messages in Phone Link, but there is no support for group chats or sending photos and videos.
As noted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Phone Link also lacks full message history for conversations and displays all sent and received messages as gray bubbles, meaning iMessages and SMS text messages cannot be differentiated.
Microsoft says iPhone support in Phone Link will be available in preview starting this week for a "small percentage" of Windows Insider members enrolled in the Dev, Beta, or Release Preview channels. The preview will be expanded "over time."
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