Inspired by the famous Apple handoff, Microsoft wants to extend cooperation between Android and Windows, with a function allowing to continue on PC what we started on smartphone. But the road still seems long.
It is a demonstration that will have lasted only a few hours, but which says a lot about Microsoft’s ambitions. During the Build 2025 conference, the publisher presented – then deleted in the process – an overview of Cross Device Resume, a function designed to allow Windows 11 users to take over their PC an activity started on their Android smartphone. A simple gesture, almost harmless, but carrying a much more ambitious strategy: making Windows as fluid and connected as the Apple ecosystem.
The demonstration, broadcast in A pre -recorded video then expurgated without explanation in another versionshowed the continuity of a Spotify session. A small bubble appeared on the application icon in the taskbar: one click was enough to relaunch reading at the same time, but on the computer. A function that directly evokes Handoff, Apple technology that allows you to switch from the iPhone to Mac or iPad without hitching, adapted this time to Android and Windows.
Cross Device Resume: Easily switch from Android to Windows
Microsoft is not at his first try. The project recalls an abandoned initiative called Project Rome, tested in 2016 on Windows 10, and then declined under several denominations – continues from Phone, then Resume. The idea was already to allow applications to follow the user from one device to another. But without direct control over Android, and without the homogeneity of Apple, Microsoft then struck the lack of enthusiasm of the developers. Today, the strategy seems to be relaunched, with a more modular approach and centered on open APIs. Integration remains dependent on the cooperation of third -party actors.
For the time being, Spotify is the first partner highlighted, even if its own recovery system (Spotify Connect) makes the demonstration somewhat redundant. Other applications could follow, including WhatsApp, to allow for example to transfer a voice call between two devices. The potential is vast, but the success of the project will depend on Microsoft’s ability to convince other services such as Netflix, Slack or Teams to play the game.
Beyond the technological gadget, it is the vision of a central windows in the “digital life” of its users that Microsoft draws. The company has long been trying to fill the gap between devices. After Windows Phone’s failure, it is now reinforced interoperability, especially with the Android ecosystem. But this bet is not without risk: without direct control over mobile devices, each partnership is negotiation. And the promised fluidity could quickly transform into the obstacle course.
While the function has already appeared in certain Windows 11 test versions, especially in the Release Preview channel, Microsoft seems to want to play the card of discretion and suspense. The removal of the public demo suggests that everything is not yet ready, or that the publisher wants to create a more marked announcement effect. Anyway, the dynamics are launched. And with it, a new attempt to erase, in its own way, the border between the smartphone and the computer.