Reports suggest that the app will soon be in the hands of Windows 10 testers, and after that should be released into the wild, likely cropping up in a Windows 10 update and on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. But the upcoming companion app is likely to make this process even slicker. Such a feature is already available with Microsoft’s OneDrive app, which can upload photos from a device to the cloud in the background and allow for them to be imported into the Windows 10 Photos app. But Italian blog Agglomamenti caught a glimpse at a new companion app Microsoft has created that allows for smooth, cable-free photo transfers between Windows PCs and laptops connected to the same network as the Android and iOS devices.

Neither options are exactly ideal for rapidly getting pics from mobile devices to PCs. While pulling pics from Android devices requires a bit of file spelunking and some tedious copy and pasting work. Getting photos from iOS often involves digging around in the now rather clunky iTunes desktop app. Microsoft’s Garage team says, “ Who is looking to complete an epic video project, send media to a friend’s PC, or just get that one special photo onto their computer so it can be edited and turned into the next great post, cover photo, or presentation“.ĭownload the Photos Companion app on your iOS device from App Store, or for your Android device via Google Play Store.Microsoft will make it easier to transfer photos from Android and iOS devices to Windows PCs, thanks to creating a companion app to support rapid photo wrangling over Wi-Fi. However, the app seems important for students and educators. This way there is no requirement of using the same Wi-Fi on the mobile and PC to transfer.

It is to be noted that you already have the option to back up your photos and videos to a cloud service, such as Google Drive, iCloud, or even Microsoft’s OneDrive. Also, if in case the import from mobile over Wi-Fi option is not visible in the Photos app on your computer, you need to enable the Show additional preview option that is available in the Settings of the Photos app. As we mentioned, your devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network to let you transfer the content.

Photos companion ios