There are a number of solutions out there that cater to those who want to sync their notifications from their phone to their computer and view them while working, gaming or otherwise engaged in a manner that would make it inconvenient to pick up their phone. Most of these solutions are a bit lacking, such as a Chrome extension that does not allow users to act on the notifications it serves. Even more full-featured and elegant solutions, like Pushbullet, are a bit lacking in some way or another, leaving the market open for other solutions with different functionality. Microsoft’s Cortana is also entering the desktop notification market, at least for those who are opted in to use the latest testing software for Windows 10.
The newest version of the Cortana app brings notification syncing, so long as you’re running Windows 10 version 1511 or higher and have Cortana enabled on the PC. The notifications show up in a similar manner to calendar events and reminders, and are actionable. For example, a notification showing a missed call can be interacted with to send an SMS message to the caller. For the most part, interacting with notifications on desktop will function in a similar manner to interacting with them on your phone, though notifications from some apps, like games, may prove difficult or impossible to get working, since a Windows 10 PC may not be compatible with all of the apps found on an Android device.
The new notification system and its focus on cross-platform users indicates a deeper integration of Cortana into the Android ecosystem and, on Google and Microsoft’s part, a possible willingness to play nice with one another’s ecosystems. It is also possible, of course, that Microsoft is looking to beat Google at their own game, given yesterday’s big reveal of Google’s new Assistant platform. In any case, the feature is only available to testers for now, but could find its way to normal Windows 10 users later on. For the time being, if you happen to use Cortana and be signed up to test new builds of Windows 10, head through the source link to check out the full details of today’s update in the Play Store and give it a try for yourself.