Windows 11 Tests Quick Settings Tile for Controlling a Linked Phone
Microsoft is testing a Mobile devices tile in Windows 11 Quick Settings that surfaces Do Not Disturb, volume, and ring controls for a linked phone without opening Phone Link, per Android Authority.
Once an Android phone is linked, the tile changes to show that phone's device name and opens controls for Do Not Disturb, volume, and Play sound, the last of which makes the handset ring when it has been misplaced. Android Authority reported that the feature is still hidden inside the experimental builds and that iPhones may also get the same controls.
The report, which Android Authority based on a discovery by Windows Latest, places the tile inside Microsoft's existing Phone Link setup rather than a separate application. Phone Link has been Microsoft's continuity offering for years, connecting Windows PCs to Android and iOS handsets.
Android Authority framed the experiment against Apple's cross-device behavior, in which several devices on one desk share controls and state, and against Google's new Googlebook platform, which the report describes as an effort to emulate similar conveniences. The tile is not present in standard Windows 11 builds, according to the report.