Microsoft has released a new app designed to allow users to access Windows on iPhones, iPads, Macs as well as Android devices. [The app can effectively stream a copy of Windows 10 or 11 from Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Dev Box, Microsoft Remote Desktop Service, Windows 365, or a remote PC For.

The app essentially replaces and improves upon the Microsoft 365 app, with features such as resolution scaling, mouse and keyboard support, and redirection of peripherals like webcams and printers that allow Windows to be used on other devices. The Windows OS is also available for other devices. This means, for example, that a copy of Windows can effectively be streamed to an iPad and a front-mounted camera can be used as a webcam.

You can also do neat things like wirelessly connect your iPhone to an external display via AirPlay and use the Windows app to run a copy of Windows on the display, while using the iPhone as a touch screen to control the mouse pointer. You can even download apps and streaming apps. While you can already set up a similar work regime by downloading apps, tweaking streaming settings, and generally going a little crazy, this new app is going to make the process of using Microsoft services on a non-Microsoft device much simpler.

The Windows app was announced at Microsoft's Ignite conference and is currently only available in limited preview on select platforms and only for business or school accounts. However, the login screen states that you must "sign in with a work, school, or personal account," so it seems likely that by the time this app exits preview, you will be able to log in with your personal Windows account.

Once logged in, the user is presented with a hub page that offers options to log in to different Microsoft accounts, access different virtual PCs, and launch Microsoft apps such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

There is also a "Optimize for Retina Display" button (which scales resolution to match macOS resolution scaling, but consumes more bandwidth), and when you rotate your iPhone or iPad, the Windows session does not rotate with it. Access to platform-specific settings that can be used to tailor the experience to the device, such as a setting to automatically lock apps.

However, Windows apps are currently largely unavailable as Microsoft works to iron out glitches and roll out to more platforms, in addition to Windows apps only being supported for educational and business accounts at this stage, currently only easily accessible through the Microsoft Store on Windows PCs; the Android version has not yet appeared on the Google Play Store, and the iOS/iPadOS version is undergoing limited testing through Apple's TestFlight service.

Access should become easier as we approach 2024, but if you just can't wait, you can check out Microsoft's guide to getting started with the Windows App.

The new Windows App is exciting for those who like the idea of working from their iPad, but there's a lot more going on than just Microsoft's revamped Windows streaming service.

Thanks to apps like Microsoft 365, it has long been possible to access Microsoft services like Excel and Word on non-Windows platforms, but the new Windows App is easier to use and more functional. It also incorporates a central hub for quick access to a copy of Windows that you are streaming from a remote PC (your own or Microsoft's PC), and the functionality of the two previous apps (Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Remote Desktop) is good in that it effectively merges the functionality of the two previous apps (Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Remote Desktop) into one, more user-friendly Windows app.

But if you look past the superficial benefits, you may catch a glimpse of Microsoft's larger ambitions for Windows. As The Verge has kindly pointed out, disclosures from the recent FTC v. Microsoft hearing (when Microsoft successfully defended its Activision Blizzard acquisition) revealed that Microsoft is working to make the consumer version of Windows fully available from the cloud to any device. It was revealed that the company aims to make it possible to stream.

This is clearly a big step in that direction, and we should expect Windows to become increasingly cloud-centric as we head into 2024, a year in which Apple will reportedly allow third-party app stores in the Apple App Store, mean that things like Microsoft 365 and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions will be able to be sold within Windows apps on iPhones and iPads.