Windows 10 will work with all your devices

Microsoft has put in a lot of work on Windows 10 and will release it as a free update to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users on July 29. While Windows 10 Mobile users will probably benefit the most from the update, Microsoft has not forgotten those on other platforms.

Microsoft understands that not everyone would own a Windows 10 Mobile device. Many people use iPhone or iPhone phones, and the company wants to make sure they can stay connected to their Windows 10 PC.

Phone Companion for Windows 10

Microsoft will ship Windows 10 with an app called Phone companion, which will help connect your Windows PC to whatever phone you own - whether its a Windows phone, Android phone or iPhone. When you launch the Phone Companion app on your PC, you pick which type of phone you own – Windows phone, Android phone, or iPhone.

With a Windows phone, there’s nothing extra needed. But for an Android phone or iPhone you need to follow a few easy steps to get the right apps on your phone to make it work great in conjunction with your Windows 10 PC.

All your files and content will be magically available on your PC and your phone:

• With the OneDrive app setup correctly on your phone, every photo you take on your phone will show up automatically in the Photos app on your Windows 10 PC.
• With the latest upcoming version of the Music app, you’ll be able to store and access your music from OneDrive not only on your PC but now also play it anywhere, for free, on your iOS or Android phone (this already works on Windows phones). This means the music playlists you spend hours putting together on your Windows 10 PC will now show up and be playable on your phone, automatically.
• Take a note wherever you are—notes you write on your PC in OneNote will show up on your phone. And any note you tweak on your phone will get synced to your PC.
• And you can work on your Office documents from any of your devices, without worrying about moving files around.

When you upgrade your PC to Windows 10, your experience will include Cortana. Those of you familiar with benefits of the deep integration of Cortana on Windows phone can expect to see the same integration on your Windows 10 PC. Cortana will be able to help you get lots of things done, from searching for things on the web or your device to setting reminders, dictating email, or toggling device settings. Cortana is also integrated into our new web browser for Windows 10 – Microsoft Edge.

Cortana is coming to Android and iOS

Microsoft has announced that they will be bringing Cortana to Android and iOS devices. The ‘Phone Companion’ app on the PC will help you install the Cortana app from the Google Play or Apple App Store onto your phone so you’ll be able to take Microsoft's personal assistant with you, wherever you go.

The Cortana app can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone. You can have Cortana remind you to pick up milk the next time you’re at the grocery store, and then your phone will wake up and buzz with the reminder. You’ll be able to track a flight using Cortana on both your phone and your PC, and get the updates on the device that you’re on so you don’t miss anything. Everything in Cortana’s Notebook will show up across all your devices and any changes you make on one device will be reflected when you use Cortana on any of your other devices. The Cortana companion app will help you complete tasks you begin on your PC wherever you are, on your phone. You can check out the following video which shows Cortana in action.

Cortana will not be a full-blown native app and not all of its features will work on the rival platforms. Things like opening apps with voice commands, or toggling settings or using the “Hey Cortana” command won’t be available on iOS or Android.

Everything in Cortana’s Notebook will show up across all your devices and any changes you make on one device will be reflected on Notebook on any of your other devices. The main idea behind making Cortana cross platform is to ensure your notifications and information follow you anywhere regardless of the device you use.

Xbox Music with OneDrive support coming to iOS and Android

Along with this, Microsoft also announced an update for Xbox Music app on Android and iPhone that will enable free playback of your music files and playlists from OneDrive.

Currently this feature is only available for Windows users. But once this feature is enabled on rival platform, it will allows users to get their music playlists from Windows 10 PC on their phone automatically.