Windows 10 Mobile Preview Now Lets You Text From Your PC

The latest Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview, build 14327, will now let you send and receive cellular text messages from your Windows 10 PC or tablet with a help of a new app called Messaging Everywhere.

To use the feature, people would require a Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview device such as the Lumia 650 or the Lumia 950. All you need to do is to go in to the Settings app and turn on the "Send texts on all my Windows devices" option on the handset under 'Messaging everywhere (Beta)'. On the PC you would have to select which phone to send messages through. The app syncs with all the connected Windows 10 devices letting you send and receive messages even without the handset.

The same Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview update now also eliminates the Skype integration from Windows Mobile messaging. The app will later be replaced with the Universal Windows Platform version of the app in the upcoming build. "In the meantime, you can use the existing Skype for Windows Phone app available in the Windows Store," said Gabe Aul, Corporate Vice President, Engineering Systems Team, Microsoft in a blog post.

With the latest build, Cortana too gets support for Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil), and French (Canada) languages for mobile. In addition, a number of fixes have been included for the Windows 10 Mobile. The build fixes issues regarding locking/unlocking of screen, Windows Hello, keyboard, apps failing to launch, Bluetooth tethering, and more.

Meanwhile, the Redmond-based tech giant has updated the Skype UWP Preview app via the store on Insider versions of Windows 10. With the update Windows Insiders can now create and send group messages and also make group audio and video calls. For now, Insiders can see up to four video images on the screen at once. The update also introduces group instant messaging. Marking a person or group as a favourite is also possible.

"As you can see, we've added lots of group features to play with. In addition, we also know that autocorrect may sometimes get ahead of you, so we've added the ability to edit and delete messages to manage any faux pas," said the company blog post.

The Skype team also reveals what the Skype UWP Preview app for Mobile will bring for users. "The mobile release of the Skype UWP Preview app will bring you features you've asked for-like group calling and more-while leveraging the benefits of the Skype integration into Windows 10 you previously experienced, like a single view of your SMS and Skype conversations."