These new features are coming soon to Microsoft's Phone Link app

As a part of its renewed effort to make Android integration on Windows more refined, Microsoft created a dedicated division called "AMPX." Users may start to see some of the benefits of that new division very soon, starting with the Phone Link app.

As spotted by serial leaker Aggiornamenti Lumia, Microsoft"s Phone Link will get nifty new features and improvements in the coming days. One of the useful features Microsoft plans to introduce is the ability to search for messages, just like you can on your smartphone. This will allow you to type the senders" names, and the Phone Link app will show all the messages you received from them. You can also type the text you want the app to display. For example, if you type "Neowin" in the new "Search messages" area, it will show all the relevant messages.

There are some subtle changes coming soon to the messaging experience in the Phone Link app. Messages will now be categorized into two parts: the ones you received recently and others that are hidden, as can be seen in the screenshot below. You can also "Unhide" a message from the app.

Screenshot of the Phone Link app containing new features | Image: Aggiornamenti Lumia

Not all upcoming features are meant to improve the messaging experience. Microsoft seems to be planning to make minute changes to Phone Link"s Notifications panel. In the screenshot shared by the leaker, we don"t see the three dots view beside "Notifications." In its place, there will be an option to clear all notifications just by a click. Currently, clicking on the three dots view will bring a menu containing three options, "Refresh," "Customize," and "Clear all."

Another small change is that there will be some border-spacing between notifications. Also, the ability to pin and clear an individual notification may not appear in the top right corner of the notification. Microsoft is either getting rid of them or hiding them behind a right-click. There are also some small UI tweaks in the connectivity status.

Screenshot of the Phone Link app | Current version: 1.22051.113.0

Aggiornamenti Lumia hasn"t mentioned anything about a the timeline of when these changes will come to the Phone Link app. But we hope Microsoft will bring them sooner rather than later.


Which upcoming Phone Link features are you excited about the most? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Aggiornamenti Lumia (Twitter)

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