Microsoft introduced loads of attention-grabbing stuff for Home windows 11 on the ongoing Construct 2025 convention. Nonetheless, one characteristic apparently confirmed up unannounced throughout one of many periods, revealing Microsoft borrowing a helpful productiveness characteristic from macOS.

The characteristic in query known as Handoff. It helps you to transfer a activity out of your iPhone or iPad to your Mac (and vice versa) and seamlessly proceed the place you left off. Handoff is a fairly previous characteristic—Apple launched it almost 11 years in the past in iOS 8, and Microsoft itself explored this idea a few years in the past. In 2017, Microsoft introduced Undertaking Rome to permit builders to construct cross-device experiences that may be moved between gadgets, however not a lot has been heard about it ever since. Now, the concept seems to be again.

In a now-deleted demo, one in every of Microsoft’s product managers demonstrated how the characteristic works. As soon as Home windows detects that you just opened a appropriate app in your machine (presumably an Android smartphone or pill), a brand new icon seems on the taskbar, permitting you to rapidly switch the expertise to your PC and proceed the place you left off.

Right here is how Aakash Varshney, a senior product supervisor for cross gadgets and experiences, describes it:

It’s a visible nudge that when clicked launches your app immediately into the duty, delivering a easy intuitive handoff from PC to telephone. Spotify launches and I’m immediately again in the identical tune, now enjoying on my PC. No want to look or begin over, it’s a easy one-click transition that retains the music and person expertise uninterrupted.

This expertise would require some work from builders. Attracting builders to implement new shopper options in Home windows has been a difficult activity for Microsoft for a few years (particularly on Home windows Cellphone), so will probably be attention-grabbing to see what number of apps will supply this cross-device functionality. That’s, after all, assuming Microsoft will ship it. For now, this characteristic has but to see its public announcement.

Supply: @phantomofearth on X | The Verge