What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop recently received an update to version 10.4.1 on iOS.
• The update adds a new UI to highlight recently released features within the app.
• A small set of other features and bug fixes ship with the update as well, including thumbnail snapshots for published PC resources in the Workspacs tab.

Microsoft recently rolled out an update to its Remote Desktop app for iOS. The update brings the app to version 10.4.1 and adds a small handful of new features and bug fixes. One of the new features is a highlights UI that advertises new features within the app. Now, when people run Microsoft Remote Desktop for the first time after an update, they'll be shown any new options or tools within the app.

Version 10.4.1 of Microsoft Remote Desktop also adds thumbnail snapshots for published PC resources to the Workspaces tab in the Connection Center.

Here's Microsoft's changelog for the 10.4.1 update:

"In this release we added thumbnail snapshots for published PC resources to the Workspaces tab of the Connection Center. We also created an in-app highlights UI to advertise new features (shown at first run after an update, or accessible via Settings > About > Version Highlights). And lastly, we fixed an issue where the mouse cursor would temporarily get stuck at the bottom of the screen."

Overall, this is a relatively minor update, but it will help users discover new features in future versions of the app.

If you're new to using the app, our guide on how to use Remote Desktop app to connect to a PC is a good place to start.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop just received an update on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
• The iOS version of the app now supports a two-column thumbnail view for larger iPhones.
• On macOS, the app adds a background refresh feature for subscribed workspaces.

Microsoft Remote Desktop has updates available on macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. Both versions of the app have a long list of new features, including background refresh for subscribed workspaces on macOS and a two-column thumbnail view for larger iPhones like the iPhone 12.

Microsoft Remote Desktop has a long changelog for macOS, including several fixes and general improvements:

• Added background refresh for subscribed workspaces.
• Fixed an issue where the session window may jump to another monitor when auto-reconnect kicks in.
• Fixed an issue where the session window would sometimes be enlarged after connecting.
• Addressed an issue where the name of a redirected folder would be incorrect in the remote session.
• Fixed a bug that made it difficult to resize remote app windows.
• Improved the error messages that are displayed when user accounts fail to update.
• Fixed an issue where window titles in the list of connected remote apps were blank.
• Addressed a multimon issue where the mouse cursor shape would not update correctly when dragging between monitors.
• Added a checkbox to General Preferences to enable/disable Microsoft Teams optimizations.
• Added UI to report if a remote app could not be launched on the server due to not being on the system allow list.
• Fixed an issue where the session window could not be made wider when placed at the top or bottom of the screen.
• Addressed scenarios where the mouse cursor would disappear while connected to a remote PC.
• Deletion of an Azure Virtual Desktop workspace now correctly removes all associated workspaces.
• Fixed an issue where adding a folder to redirect to a bookmark would enable the "Add" button with an empty PC name.
• Addressed an issue where double-clicking the title bar incorrectly stretched the session window.
• Updated the mouse to change to a hand glyph when hovering over a red input error indicator.
• Fixed an issue where the session window would flash rapidly in the "Mission Control" or "Application windows" view.

Here's what's new for Microsoft Remote Desktop on iOS and iPadOS:

• Additional two-column thumbnail view for larger iPhones.
• Revamped PC thumbnail styling.
• Cleaned up PC bookmark list view (only available on iPhones).
• Press-and-hold semantics for PC bookmarks and workspace headers.
• New context menus for interaction with PC bookmarks and workspaces.
• Ability to duplicate PC bookmarks.
• Full preview of the PC bookmark thumbnail after a press-and-hold.
• New pull-down menu for interaction with the Connection Center.
• Pull-to-refresh behavior for subscribed workspaces.
• Animated sorting of PC bookmarks by name or last connected time.
• Auto-expanded search field on iPads.

If you're new to using a remote desktop, make sure to check out our guide on how to use Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows 10 PC.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop now natively supports Apple silicon, including Apple's M1 chips.
• The update also brings several other features, including client-side IME support for using Unicode keyboard mode.
• Microsoft also recently improve the underlying code of the app across all clients.

Microsoft Remote Desktop recently received a major update that brings native support for Apple's silicon, including Apple's M1 chips. The update should bring better performance and efficiency for the app on devices like Apple's new M1 MacBook Pro. The update also brings several other improvements and fixes, as well as a couple of new features.

Here's everything that's new in the recent update.

In this release we've made some significant updates to the shared underlying code that powers the Remote Desktop experience across all our clients. We've also added some new features and addressed bugs and crashes that were showing up in error reporting.

• Added native support for Apple Silicon.
• Added client-side IME support when using Unicode keyboard mode.
• Integrated Kerberos support in the CredSSP security protocol sequence.
• Addressed macOS 11 compatibility issues.
• Made updates to improve interoperability with current and upcoming features in the Windows Virtual Desktop service.
• Made fixes to address mispaints when decoding AVC data generated by a server-side hardware encoder.
• Addressed an issue where windows from remoted Office apps were not visible despite being present in the app switcher.

Note that this app now requires macOS 10.14 or later.

In addition to bringing native Apple silicon support, Microsoft recently made significant updates to the underlying code that powers Microsoft Remote Desktop.

If you want to use Windows 10 on your MacBook or other macOS devices, you can also check out Parallels Desktop 16.5. Parallels just rolled out an update with Apple silicon support, giving you another option for pairing Windows 10 with Apple hardware.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop on Android recently received an update.
• The update brings support for client-side IMEs when using on-screen keyboards.
• The update also includes a couple of other improvements as well as bug fixes.

Microsoft Remote Desktop recently received an update on Android that makes it easier to use with touchscreen keyboards. The update brings the app to version 10.0.9.11.22 and also includes a couple of other improvements as well as bug fixes.

Following the update, you'll be able to use built-in and on-screen keyboards from the client-side of the Remote Desktop setup. Here's everything that's new with the update:

• Added support for client-side IMEs when using built-in and onscreen keyboards.
• Integrated credential prompting into the workspace subscription flow.
• Improved WVD workspace download performance to prevent throttling.
• Fixed instances in the UI of incorrect command icons.

With this update in place, your remote desktop setup should also prevent throttling, thanks to improvements of WVD workspace download performance in the app.

If you're new to using a remote desktop app, you can check out our guide on How to use Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows 10 PC. If you're not locked into the Microsoft ecosystem, there are also some great alternatives. Our Richard Devine recently wrote about how Chrome Remote Desktop is so good you shouldn't look at anything else.

What you need to know

• Microsoft's Remote Desktop app for iOS recently received its first update of the year.
• The update includes a new zoom slider and options to collapse or dock the connection bar.
• The update also addresses some bugs and issues.

Microsoft recently rolled out an update to its Remote Desktop Mobile app on iOS (via OnMSFT). The update is the first of 2021, and it includes some notable improvements for the app on both iPhones and iPads. The app now has more options for the connection bar, including the option to collapse it or dock it to different parts of your screen. The update also brings a zoom slider.

Here's everything that's new in the update, as found on its App Store listing:

It's 2021 and time for our first release of the year.

First, we've made changes to the connection bar (which is part of the in-session user experience):

• The connection bar can be collapsed by moving it into one of the four corners of the screen.
• On iPads and large iPhones you can dock the connection bar to the left or right edge of the screen.
• A press-and-hold gesture on the connection bar magnification button reveals a panel with a zoom slider.
• The new zoom slider controls the magnification level of the session in both touch and mouse pointer mode.

Finally, we addressed some accessibility bugs and the following two issues:

• The client now validates the PC name in the Add/Edit PC UI to ensure that it does not contain illegal characters.
• Addressed an issue where the UI would stop resolving a workspace name during subscription.

If you're looking for an alternative to Microsoft's Remote Desktop app, our Richard Devine recently wrote about how Chrome Remote Desktop is so good you shouldn't look at anything else.

What you need to know

• The UWP Remote Desktop app for Windows 10 received a big update this week.
• The upadte adds light and dark mode support, ARM64 support, and much more.
• Insiders can check out this update now at the Microsoft Store.

The Insider version of the official Microsoft Remote Desktop UWP app for Windows 10 received a pretty big update this week. The app now supports light and dark modes, adds ARM64 support, and much more. The app also now uses the same RDP core engine as its macOS and mobile counterparts.

Here's a look at the full release notes:

• Rewrote the client to use the same underlying RDP core engine as the iOS, macOS, and Android clients.
• Added support for the Azure Resource Manager-integrated version of Windows Virtual Desktop.
• Added support for x64 and ARM64.
• Updated the side panel design to full screen.
• Added support for light and dark modes.
• Added functionality to subscribe and connect to sovereign cloud deployments.
• Added functionality to enable backup and restore of workspaces (bookmarks) in release to manufacturing (RTM).
• Updated functionality to use existing Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) tokens during the subscription process to reduce the number of times users must sign in.
• Updated subscription can now detect whether you're using Windows Virtual Desktop or Windows Virtual Desktop (classic).
• Fixed issue with copying files to remote PCs.
• Fixed commonly reported accessibility issues with buttons.

The update appears to only be available for those enrolled in Insider testing for apps at the moment. Still, it's a nice set of upgrades that should make their way to everyone soon. If you're a tester, you can download the latest version of Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Microsoft Store now.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop received several new features in a new update.
• The update brings support for RDP files and RDP URIs
• Microsoft Remote Desktop also recently received a significant update that brought support for Windows Virtual Desktop.

A new update for Microsoft Remote Desktop brings several new features that make the app more useful (via OnMSFT). Support for RDP files and RDP URIs comes with this update, which is one of the most notable changes. URI stands for Uniform Resource Identifier and is used to integrate Remote Desktop features across platforms. Microsoft explains the feature in more depth in the Remote Desktop support documentation.

The complete changelog from the app's listing in the App Store explains all of the new features. Here's a quick breakdown:

• Support for launching connections from RDP files and RDP URIs.
• Workspace headers are now collapsible.
• Concurrent zoom and pan is now supported in Mouse Pointer mode.
• A press-and-hold gesture in Mouse Pointer mode will now trigger a right-click in the remote session.
• The force-touch gesture for right-click in Mouse Pointer mode has been removed.
• The in-session switcher screen now supports disconnecting, even if no apps are connected.
• Light dismiss is now supported in the in-session switcher screen.
• PCs and apps are no longer automatically reordered in the in-session switcher screen.
• The hit test area for the PC thumbnail view ellipses menu has been enlarged.
• The Input Devices settings page now contains a link to supported devices.
• Fixed a bug that caused the Bluetooth permissions UI to repeatedly appear at launch for some users.
• Fixed crashes that were showing up in error reporting.

Microsoft Remote Desktop on iOS went untouched for over a year in terms of updates, but last month it received a significant update. That update brought support for Windows Remote Desktop. With another update coming this month, it seems that Microsoft Remote Desktop will receive more regular updates going forward.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Remote Desktop received several new features in a new update.
• The update brings support for Windows Virtual Desktop.
• This is the first update for the app in over a year.

Microsoft rolled out an update for Microsoft Remote Desktop recently. It's the first update for the app in over a year, but it brings several significant features to the app (via OnMSFT). Perhaps most importantly, the app now supports Windows Virtual Desktop.

The complete changelog lists every new feature that's supported. Here's a quick breakdown:

• Support for the Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) service.
• Brand new Connection Center UI.
• Brand new in-session UI for switching between connected PCs and apps.
• New layout for the auxiliary on-screen keyboard.
• Improved external keyboard support.
• Support for SwiftPoint Bluetooth mice.
• Support for microphone redirection.
• Support for local storage redirection.
• Support for camera redirection (Windows 10 1809 or later required).
• Support for new iPhone and iPad devices.
• Dark and light theme support.
• Control whether your phone can lock when connected to a remote PC or app.
• Collapse the in-session connection bar with a long-press on the Remote Desktop logo.

Windows Virtual Desktop allows people to "deploy and scale" Windows desktop and apps on Azure. Microsoft's page explaining the service states that it is "the only virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that delivers simplified management, multi-session Windows 10, optimizations for Office 365 ProPlus, and support for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments. Deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes, and get built-in security and compliance features."

The rest of the newly supported features increase the range of devices that you can use, including newer iPhones and iPads.

Microsoft is confident its popular Remote Desktop app for Windows 10 and Mobile is ready for primetime. The company just announced that the official version in the Store should be pushed to the production build today if you download it and as an update later on.

Interestingly, the company is also keeping the Preview version alive for those who like some excitement in their remoting lives. The reason for the Preview version continuing is because not all the features from the 8.1 app are present in the new Windows 10 one. Just like Insider rings the Preview Remote Desktop app will be updated more frequently with newer features, but may contain more bugs.

Here is what works in the official Remote Desktop App:

• Desktop connections are preserved
• User names are preserved
• Passwords need to be re-entered
• Gateways are preserved
• Remote resources URLs are preserved from Windows Phone 8.1 but require new sign in
• Remote resources are not preserved from Windows 8.1 and need to be re-added
• Some general settings are preserved

Here is what is not working, but is on the roadmap to be added:

• Multiple simultaneous connections
• Dynamic resolution and rotation
• Printer redirection
• Smartcard redirection
• Microphone support
• Localized app (currently English only)

Microsoft also notes that you can have both versions (official and preview) installed on the same device, which would give you the most flexibility.

You can grab both or either from the links below. Both are available for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile.

• Download Remote Desktop for Windows 10
• Download Remote Desktop Preview for Windows 10

Microsoft has rolled out an update for Remote Desktop Preview on Windows 10, which adds support for both Windows 10 Mobile and Continuum. Those with supported mobile devices, like the Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL, will now be able to enjoy the same Remote Desktop experience they're used to on the PC on their smartphone.

Since this is a Universal app, Microsoft has made it so the user experience on mobile matches that of Windows 10, enabling you to dive in without having to learn anything new. Both portrait and landscape views are supported on the Windows 10 Mobile version, and as an added bonus, Continuum will allow you to up-scale what's being viewed on your phone on a larger monitor.

Simply connect to a Microsoft Display Dock, add a keyboard and mouse and you're now using Remote Desktop on Windows 10, powered by your smartphone. It's a really neat update and one we're sure those who enjoy using Continuum will appreciate. Other new features and additions were included in this latest update for previewers, with the ability to send keyboard commands and more.

For more details, be sure to check out the official blog post, linked below.

Source: Microsoft

For those using Continuum and who work from home or in the office, you'll be pleased to know that the Remote Desktop Universal app is not only happening but will be released soon as a Technical Preview. This follows up on the Remote Desktop preview, which is available now for PC (but not mobile).

The news came from the Microsoft Community forums where Jason[MS], a forum moderator, posted the info when asking about Continuum and what users want.

While there is no firm date yet to reveal, just knowing that the app is coming soon should be enough to keep those who use Windows Phone and Continuum happy.

Currently, there is a preview of the Remote Desktop app but it is only for PC and cannot be used for phone and Continuum. That app can be found below.

Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview for Windows 10 PC

Windows Central will, of course, let you know when the mobile and Continuum ready version happens.

Source: Microsoft forums

Microsoft has updated its Remote Desktop app for Windows Phone 8.1 today and in so doing has removed the "preview" label from the app for the first time since it was launched in April 2014.

The new version number of the app is 8.1.8 and while the change log is brief, it's certainly interesting:

• App is now out of preview
• Added support for connecting through a Remote Desktop Gateway
• Added support for accessing Remote Resources
• Bug fixes and other improvements

Let us know what you think of Microsoft's app in the comments now that's its a non-preview release.

Thanks to WPit for the tip!

Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview for Windows Phone (Free)

Microsoft has just pushed out an update for the Remote Desktop Preview app on Windows Phone. This app launched in late April 2014 and allows you to to connect to a remote PC using your Windows Phone. Since that first release, we've seen a handful of updates to the app which have provided increased functionality. Today's update to Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview on Windows Phone is notable for allowing you to pin apps to the Start screen.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview version 8.1.7

• Pinning apps to the Start screen
• Background refresh and notifications

We're sure a number of you will be excited for today's update, especially the ability to jump straight to a desktop app by pinning it to your Start screen. This is an improvement made to Azure RemoteApp within Remote Desktop Preview for Windows Phone. As you'll recall, Azure RemoteApp support was added to Remote Desktop Preview last month in an update.

Any app available to you on Azure RemoteApp can be pinned to your Start screen. Once pinned, you can launch the app from your Start screen with a single tap.

Today's update also introduces background refresh and notifications. The list of apps available to you will be automatically synced while you're using Remote Desktop Preview on Windows Phone. New invitations will also show up to you as a notification on Windows Phone.

This is the last update for Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview on Windows Phone for 2014. We're not seeing the update live just yet in the Windows Phone Store, but keep your eyes open for when it does. Once you do get the update, let us know what you think of the additions! And still waiting for Remote Desktop Gateway and Remote Resources support? You'll have to wait until early next year as the team is putting the final touches on these features.

• Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview for Windows Phone (Free)

Source: Microsoft Via: @maryjofoley

A new update for the Remote Desktop Windows Phone app adds support for Microsoft's new Azure RemoteApp service. The update also contains some unnamed bug fixes and improvements.

Microsoft says the new 1.6 version of the app with Azure RemoteApp allows for "IT admins company their Win32 applications available to users on all their devices." It added, "We are hard at work to bring you additional enterprise features in the near future including support for Remote resources (RemoteApp and Desktop Connections) and Remote Desktop Gateway." Will this update be a help to your business needs?

• Download Remote App from the Windows Phone Store

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft's Remote Desktop Preview app for Windows Phone 8.1 got a new update earlier today, and it brings with it a number of new features, including a way to pin any frequently used remote desktops to the Start screen.

The app update, which brings the version number up to 8.1.1.19, also adds Word flow and predictive texts to be used while typing in the app's virtual keyboard, and going into Settings will now allow users to high or show any desktop thumbnails.

The new version also adds support for the transparent live tile feature, that was added as part of Windows Phone 8.1. Finally, the official change log states there are a number of unspecificed bug fixes and improvements.

You can download the free Remote Desktop app for Windows Phone 8.1 right now from the Windows Phone Store.

Do you use Microsoft's Remote Desktop app and what do you think of the changes and additions that have been put into the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview version?

Thanks to the many people who gave us tips about this release

Microsoft has released a preview of its Windows Phone Remote Desktop app on the Windows Phone Store. Should you be rocking the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers, you'll be able to take part in this beta program too. The app enables users to connect to remote computers and enjoy the full Windows experience through the small screen, regardless as to where they may be currently located.

We previously looked at reports of Microsoft working on a Remote Desktop client for Windows Phone late last year. Some features boasted by Microsoft include a rich multi-touch experience with remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures. This support joins high quality video with improved compression and bandwidth usage – perfect for those on tighter data plans.

Neowin also notes that this could well be a universal app, looking into how the purchase history on Microsoft Accounts appears to list only the downloading of the Windows 8 counterpart, which was released back in 2012. It would make sense for Microsoft to make its Remote Desktop experience universal across the board, but there's no indication this is yet the case.

• Download Microsoft Remote Desktop Preview

via: Neowin