J
Jeff Causey
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During their Build 2016 event in San Francisco, Microsoft has revealed some plans that will make Windows 10 play nicer and be a little more useful for Android smartphone users. Microsoft’s developers are looking at enabling desktop access to notifications received on Android phones. The support may even extend to being able to reply to notifications.
In a world where users frequently interact with multiple screens, having the same information available on any given device can be a big boon to productivity. This is one of the driving factors in the growth of the “cloud” which separates data and services from specific devices. A big challenge for many users though are notifications received on their smartphones, especially given the temporary nature of them. This challenge is driving developers to figure out a solution, although these frequently involve only a subset of the notifications a user may receive, like accessing text messages on a PC.
To broaden the capability to have notifications available and accessible on a computer, Microsoft is tapping into the Cortana app for Android. Microsoft appears to be working on a means for Cortana to build up a list of notifications received on a device, upload this to a cloud server, and then have a Windows 10 based PC using the desktop Cortana app access that same list to get things synced up.
If Microsoft can get the permissions and speed of syncing sorted out, the desktop Cortana could effectively become an extension of an Android device. This would enable users to do things like dismiss notifications from the desktop or reply to notifications.
Sources believe the same capability will be built out for Windows 10 Mobile devices. However, iOS device users will likely be left out in the cold given the restrictions of that platform. Indications are this new notification support may be available as soon as this summer when Microsoft is expected to release a major update to Windows 10.
source: The Verge
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