Windows 11 Search launches Android apps from your phone via Phone Link

⚡ The gist in 5 seconds

• In Windows 11 build 26340.9767, taskbar search surfaces Android apps from a linked phone as a separate "Mobile App" entry.
• Clicking "Open" launches the app on the smartphone and mirrors its screen in the Phone Link window on the PC.
• You need Windows 11 26H2 from the Experimental channel, Phone Link, and a paired Android phone; Microsoft didn't describe the feature in the release notes.

🔍 What happened

Windows Latest tested the new search panel on a Surface Laptop 7th Edition running Windows 11 26H2, build 26340.9767, Experimental channel, paired with a Samsung Galaxy A26 on Android 16. A "Bluesky" query returned a result labeled "Mobile App" at the top, with regular Bing suggestions and a couple of PNG files from the laptop itself below it. In other words, search treats an app from the phone the same way as an installed Windows program.

The mechanics are simple but not obvious: Bluesky itself isn't on the PC. The app keeps running on the phone, while the computer gives it a big screen, keyboard, and mouse — the smartphone's status bar is even visible in the "Phone screen" window. Microsoft shut down Windows Subsystem for Android in March 2025, so streaming from a phone remains the only official way to run Android apps on Windows 11. Previously, the only path was through Phone Link: favorites, pinning to Start or the taskbar, near-fullscreen mode. Search is another entry point, this time without creating a shortcut. Separately: on October 30, build 26340.9843 shipped, in which Microsoft officially confirmed calls, SMS, and a "Do not disturb" toggle right from search, and promised iPhone support "early next year." Not a word about launching apps in the build notes.

🧠 Our take

The timing is telling: Microsoft first shut down WSA and is now building a workaround — not an emulator, but phone screen streaming. Our assessment: this is cheaper than maintaining an Android subsystem, and it also ties the user more tightly to the Windows-plus-smartphone combo. It also settles the old complaint of "why do I need to open Phone Link if I just want the app."

What this changes in practice: Phone Link goes from "check notifications and photos" to a launcher. It costs nothing, but it requires the phone to be nearby and paired. Picture quality and latency depend on Wi-Fi — in my experience, screen streaming is always a trade-off between convenience and responsiveness. That's why I wouldn't rush to file this under "Android apps are back on Windows": the code runs on the phone, and the PC remains a monitor with a keyboard.

Microsoft wins: taskbar search becomes a single launch point for everything, not just exe files. Android vendors win too, as they get one more reason to keep users on the same phone brand. The losers are those who waited for the emulator's return: WSA is dead, and it looks final. We believe the argument here isn't about technology but about definition — whether a remote screen counts as "running an app on the PC."

⚠️ What we don't know

What we have is one test, one laptop, and one app. There are no numbers on latency, phone battery drain, or behavior with multiple apps running. It's unknown how this works on iPhone — Microsoft promises "early next year," but that's a promise, not a fact. And most importantly: Microsoft itself hasn't confirmed app launching from search; the release notes only mention calls, SMS, and "Do not disturb." It's worth checking yourself: Experimental channel, fresh build, paired phone.

Forecast: within a quarter, Microsoft will either document app launching from search in the release notes or quietly remove the result from the output — the feature isn't announced, and that's a worrying sign.

Disclaimer: not officially confirmed — Microsoft hasn't announced app launching from search; one source and one test.

Sources: Windows Latest