Microsoft testing Android alerts on Windows 10 PCs

In its new Insider Preview Build for Windows 10, Microsoft is working on a feature as part of its "Your Phone" software that would display notifications received on Android smartphones on PC screens.

Launched in 2018, "Your Phone" is an app for Windows 10 that allowed users to see recent photos taken on a Android phone directly on a Windows 10 PC and to send SMS messages from a computer.

"If you allow apps to display alerts on PCs, you can find out about an important message or status update without reaching for your handset," Engadget reported on Sunday.

The new preview build is allowing insiders to see incoming phone notifications in real-time, customise notifications and clear notifications individually or all at once.

"Boost your focus and productivity by seeing your phone's notifications on your PC. You are in control and manage which apps you want to receive notifications from. Dismiss a notification on one device and it goes away on the other," the company wrote in a blog-post.

Users testing the feature need devices running Android 7.0 Nougat with at least 1GB RAM.

"You can't respond to notifications (at least not yet), but this could be particularly vital for Snapchat and other apps that don't really have a presence on the desktop," Engadget added.

The feature is being tested as part of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18885 (20H1).