Windows is testing a new way to preview Android phone notifications

Microsoft has some big plans to integrate Android phones more deeply into Windows 11. This not only includes a new standalone Messages app, but also extended experiences for Phone Link. While it’s said that Microsoft is only exploring and prototyping most of these features, one of the changes is now rolling out as a test for Windows Insiders.

In the release notes for an experimental Windows 11 preview build (version 26300.9032), Microsoft announced a new phone companion experience. When you open Start, you’ll now be able to go over to the phone companion and hover your cursor over notifications and messages in the “Recent” section to get a preview. This preview is designed to provide more information at a glance, so you don’t feel the need to pick up your phone or open the item to see what’s new.

In the example above, you can see that the user has a LinkedIn notification in their Recent section. By moving the cursor over the notification, a bubble of text appears above, letting you see the details of the message.

According to Microsoft, it is gradually rolling out this experience to Windows Insiders on the Experimental channel. As a result, you may not see this experience right away. If you’re an Insider, the company says you’ll need to be running Phone Link build 1.26021.3.0 at a minimum.