Intel is bringing Android, iOS integration to Windows laptops with Unison

Envious of the seamless integration Mac users have with their iPhones and iPads? Well, Intel is bringing some of that functionality to PCs with Unison, a feature coming to laptops built to the company’s Evo specification. Announced together with the new 13th-generation Intel Core processors, this functionality will allow users to sync their computers with both Android and iOS devices.

With Unison, PC users will be able to make phone calls, receive notifications, transfer files and photos, and send and receive text messages. The Verge reported that iOS users will have slightly different functionality compared to Android ones, most notably the lack of more advanced messaging features like multiparty messaging. The functionality of some notifications from third-party apps may also vary depending on the Android and iOS versions of those apps, the publication wrote.

A “simple pairing process” – presumably through the Unison app that will be available on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store – will enable the two devices to talk to each other. Derived from Intel’s purchase of screen-duplication developer Screenovate late last year, Unison utilises a local WiFi network and Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.

The Unison app will be available from the Microsoft Store later this year on select Acer, HP and Lenovo laptops powered by 12th-gen Intel Core processors, with 13th-gen models getting it next year. Your devices must have the latest Windows 11 22H2 update and a minimum of Android 9 or iOS 15 to be compatible.

Manufacturers and developers have been trying to ape Apple’s multi-device integration for a while now. Google added Nearby Share to Android devices in 2020, nine years after AirDrop made its debut. Some companies like Samsung have enabled their computers and phones to sync with each other, but this appears to be the first concerted effort at cross-platform integration that doesn’t require you to be tethered to one manufacturer.