Microsoft rolls out iMessage support on Windows with several restrictions

Microsoft said today that the Phone Link app for Windows 11 will soon begin to support the iPhone. The latest development by the company was shared in a blog post. The company states that the feature will be accessible to every Windows 11 customer worldwide by mid-May.

Given the latest updates, iPhone users will be able to place and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and read notifications directly on their PC. All these functions will be carried out via the Phone Link software for Windows 11 and the Link to Windows app for iOS. Notably, this indicates that Windows 11 somewhat supports iMessage. However, there are limitations like the absence of group chats, images, videos, and conversation history outside of the current chat session.

The messages are shown in a grey bubble via the Phone Link program. Therefore, it becomes difficult to differentiate between SMS text messages and iMessages on a PC. In addition to this, messages can only be sent to a PC when the iPhone is Bluetooth-connected. According to Microsoft, this capability is only available on iPhones running iOS 14 or later. Sadly, the feature is not available on the iPad or Mac.

Overall, this is a fairly clumsy workaround for Apple’s lack of full iMessage compatibility on Windows, but it’s better than nothing for iPhone owners with a PC. Since February, Microsoft has been testing the beta version of the Phone Link app on iOS.