The Windows 10 October 2020 Update is scheduled for release next month, but you probably guessed that by its name. Now members of the Windows Insider Preview program can take the release candidate build for a spin by downloading the latest Release Preview Channel build.
Meanwhile a feature that used to only be available for Windows Insiders is now open to everyone — if you’re using the Your Phone app to pair your Android smartphone with a Windows PC there’s a new Apps feature that lets you view and interact with Android apps on the big screen.
That means you can chat, respond to notifications, and even play some games without looking away from your PC or unlocking your phone. But if you don’t have a Samsung phone you’re out of luck for now – the list of officially supported devices is basically a long list of Samsung phones.
Not even Microsoft’s own Android phone is included… although in other Surface Duo news, Windows Central has an interesting look into the dual-screen smartphone’s origins as a foldable Windows device.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Microsoft Your Phone Apps feature is now rolled out to everyone with supported devices [@MSYourPhone]
The new Apps feature in Microsoft’s Your Phone app lets you pair an Android phone with your Windows PC and mirror your mobile apps on the PC screen. It only supports Samsung phones so far, but it’s no longer exclusively available to Windows Insiders. - Project Andromeda: The secret history of Windows on Surface Duo [Windows Central]
A history of the Microsoft Surface Duo (based on leaks) that considers what it would have looked like as a Windows device… which is apparently what it was originally going to be. - Preparing the Windows 10 October 2020 Update Ready for Release [Microsoft]
Windows 10 October 2020 Update creeps toward release, with a new release candidate build rlling out to Windows Insiders. There’s still a known bug affecting Windows Subsystem for Linux, but a fix is on the way. - Nintendo 3DS discontinued [BBC]
Nearly a decade after it was first released, Nintendo has ceased manufacturing new Nintendo 3DS handhelds. The company announced game development for the 3D dual-screen handheld had ended last year. Now the Switch is the last/latest handheld standing. - Arm Officially Supports Panfrost Open-Source Mali GPU Driver Development [CNX Software]
More on that Arm partnership with the developers of the Panfrost open source graphics driver for Mali GPUs: Arm is now providing info and documentation to devs, so reverse engineering is no longer required. Expect faster, better development from now on. - MSI Duet Display cross-platform experience now available [MSI]
MSI Duet Display lets you use an iOS device as a touchscreen secondary display for a PC. It’s included in MSI’s Dragon Center, Creator Center, and Center for Business and Productivity software. - PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition is up for pre-order for $150 and up [Pine64]
As promised earlier this week, the PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition smartphone is now available for pre-order for $149. There’s also a $199 “convergence package” model with more RAM, storage, and a USB-C dock. The pre-orders were delayed a bit due to a security issue Pine64 found on its web store, but the issue has been resolved, no customer data appears to have been breached, and you can now buy a Manjaro Community Edition phone. - Manjaro’s smartphone OS is making progress [LinuxSmartphones]
A new setup experience, keyboard, and hardware-accelerated graphics are all revealed as pre-orders begin for the first phone to ship with Manjaro Linux. - The Excellent DC Universe Is Dead, and a Comics-Only Service Is Taking Its Place [GIzmodo]
DC Universe is ending early next year, to be replaced by DC Universe Infinite… which has less content (only comics). If you want to stream shows like Harley Quinn and Doom Patrol you’ll have to switch to HBO Max. - The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has progressed beyond the need for vowels [The Verge]
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ACRNM is a custom version of the 14 inch gaming laptop with Ryzen 9 4900HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, custom LED patterns for the lid, and a super funky keyboard color scheme, among other things. It’s overpriced, but intriguing.
You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find the latest news about open source phones by following our sister site Linux Smartphones on Facebook and Twitter.
I’m still not convinced anyone needs this. There’s a desktop client application or website that does the same stuff as whatever phone app, pretty much except for calls and sms/mms or stuff like the phone camera.
What about your files? Well, people can do what they want but it’s probably a bad idea to keep everything on your phone. You can expect to take that everywhere and show people things on it, and that means you can only keep the files you WANT people to see on it. Stuff you like but might make you look bad has to stay home.
It’s certainly convenient for the well-connected sociable person who gets a new message from someone every five minutes, but it’s not like they use Samsung phones exclusively.
So why am I not allowed to uninstall Your Phone?
Can you play the internal sounds on
the Android phone on your PC, such
as the mp3 music on your phone?
Ugh. Windows is coming to resemble a cheap, Android phone, preloaded with crapware. MS effectively broke Internet browsing on my low-spec Kangaroo (Atom x5-z8500 with 2GB of RAM and a 32GB eMMC) with resource-creep earlier this year; the chief task of this machine has been attempting to keep Windows 10 updated and its updates have to represent most of the wear on its eMMC; I presume that millions of other similar devices are in the same predicament. The discovery of Candy Crush among my Windows programs after a recent update really is too much. I’m reminded of an malware-infected Obamaphone I had that came preloaded with random games and other junk — which replaced them with more as soon as I made room by deleting some. I’ve finally succeeded in getting the defective UEFI implementation to recognize external boot media, but I’d already managed to install Porteus on the internal drive — Firefox will no longer load a single tab under Windows; in Porteus, I can load multiple tabs including Youtube with RAM to spare. End-users, though, can no longer use these devices for much of anything — how many are simply being discarded because of the mistaken impression that they don’t work or that they’re obsolete?
@Robert, can you install Linux on it? If you absolutely have to stick to Windows, there’s also LTSC.
eMMC wear? That’s interesting. Should I worry about the soldered eMMC dies before the useful lifespan of the machine?
I have personally pretty much ditched my 1st gen Compute Stick because it’s just too slow. I managed to update it to Windows 10 2004 but it was such a hassle. I also gave away a tablet with the same z3735 processor to my niece as it auffers from the same slowness issue. The minimum for me now is 4/64 for any device. Only 1 exception for the Liva Q connected to the TV with 4/32 because I only use it for YouTube and VLC.
I have a Samsung Galaxy J7. It used to work with MyPhone, but no longer does. I used to be able to originate and answer calls and texts on my computer. They no longer work. Thanks for upgrading the app, NOT. 🙁 🙁 🙁