Your Phone on the Google Play store has over ten million downloads, with an average rating of 4.3 – not bad. Samsung phones get the best everyone else gets mediocrity. For now, however, it looks like there's a two-tier system. What if you have a phone by OnePlus, LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.? We don't know. There's even hope that other Samsung phones may get the same 'better' Your Phone experience. In addition to this, the ability to use screen mirroring is functional without the need for Bluetooth. Notification sync is instant, as is sending messages. I've been using Your Phone for just a couple of hours, and the connection between my Surface Studio and Galaxy Note 10+ has been better than it ever has been on other phones. As our senior Windows reporter Zac Bowden commented: Even in our early testing initial feedback it's said it's a massive difference in the experience for the better.

Instead of a pure Bluetooth connection, it relies on some form of Wi-Fi connection. Its recent coziness with Samsung and the Note 10 let Your Phone (dubbed 'Link to Windows') works much better than everyone else's Your Phone. It turns out, Microsoft too can play the quality card.

Still, the beauty of Dell's strategy is Mobile Connect is very fast, reliable, and it can handle SMS, phone calls, notifications, contacts, screen mirroring, and file transfers. The app is also a bit more restrictive, requiring Android 6.0 and higher. The company can also make a custom driver for their own PCs to make it all work. Luckily, Dell makes PCs, so anything after 2018 mostly qualifies. The downside with Dell's vision is it can only run on modern PCs with the right Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stack. That connection allows for instant file transfers and even the ability to handles phone calls through the PC letting users keep their Android phone in their pocket. Mobile Connect's connection is always local (device to device) with no cloud interference. Dell's approach relies on Wi-Fi Direct with Bluetooth only involved for initial pairing and reconnecting to the smartphone. Many PC manufacturers have been making similar apps for a few years now including Dell with its popular Mobile Connect system.

Microsoft is certainly not the first to attempt a PC-phone companion app. Dell Mobile Connect (Image credit: Windows Central)

Phone companion microsoft