Windows Tests Full-Screen Mode for Android Apps

Windows users who frequently run mobile apps from their smartphone directly on their computer have received a long-awaited new feature. Testing of a mode that allows significantly increasing the size of the window with an Android app has begun in the Phone Link service.

Previously, the main inconvenience when using the function was the rigidly set vertical window format, imitating the narrow screen of a smartphone, which created difficulties when working on large-diagonal monitors. The new mode, tentatively called [full-screen], solves this problem, as a special icon has appeared next to the window minimize button in the latest test version of the app. Clicking it stretches the window with the stream from the phone, occupying a significant portion of the screen.

However, the new feature has its own peculiarities. As testing revealed, the result heavily depends on how the Android app itself is adapted for large screens. For example, messengers like WhatsApp or media players like VLC correctly utilize the new space, but at the same time, many apps designed exclusively for vertical orientation are displayed with wide black bars on the sides.

Another drawback is the fixed scale of elements. When the window is stretched, the size of fonts and icons does not change, which can reduce clarity and readability. Furthermore, the expanded window is automatically snapped to the left side of the monitor, and the user cannot freely move it or make it truly full-screen. It's important to note that the app streaming feature itself is only available to owners of smartphones from a number of brands, including Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and some others.

For now, the new feature is in the limited testing stage, and not all users of the specified app version have this option active. It is expected that Microsoft will further refine the mode, fixing the alignment and display quality issues, which could make the integration between Android devices and Windows more flexible and practical for everyday tasks.