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Microsoft announced a new “Cross Device Resume” feature for Windows 11 that lets users continue app activities between Android phones and PCs, finally matching Apple’s Handoff capability that launched in 2014.
The feature appeared during a Microsoft Build 2025 conference demo before being mysteriously removed from the official video. Screenshots captured by tech watchers show how the system works with apps like Spotify and WhatsApp.
When users open an app on their Android phone, Windows 11 displays a small phone icon badge on the corresponding desktop app in the taskbar. Clicking this badge launches the PC version and resumes exactly where the mobile session left off.
Source: Microsoft Build 2025
“Spotify launches and I’m instantly back in the same song, now playing on my PC,” said Aakash Varshney, Microsoft’s senior product manager for cross-device experiences, during the now-deleted demonstration. “No need to search or start over, it’s a smooth one-click transition that keeps the music and user experience uninterrupted.”
The demo showed a user listening to music on their Android phone, then seamlessly continuing playback on their Windows 11 PC from the exact same moment in the song.
Screenshots from the deleted demo show that Spotify will support Cross Device Resume at launch. WhatsApp also appears ready to integrate the feature, based on leaked screenshots from the Build 2025 session.
The company is providing APIs for third-party developers to add Cross Device Resume to their apps. This approach mirrors Apple’s Handoff system, which requires developers to build cross-device functionality into their software.
Apple introduced Handoff in 2014 as part of iOS 8 and macOS Yosemite. The feature has allowed iPhone and Mac users to start tasks on one device and finish them on another for over ten years.
Microsoft tried a similar technology before with Project Rome in 2016. That effort aimed to connect apps across multiple devices but never caught on with developers or users.
Microsoft has not announced an official release date for Cross Device Resume. The company’s decision to edit out the demonstration from its Build 2025 video suggests the feature is not ready for public release.
Windows 11 users with Android phones will need to wait for Microsoft to complete development and for app developers to integrate the new APIs. The feature requires cloud-based syncing to detect active mobile sessions and display taskbar notifications on Windows PCs.
Cross Device Resume represents Microsoft’s latest effort to create a seamless ecosystem between Windows computers and Android smartphones, competing directly with Apple’s integrated approach across iPhone and Mac devices.
