Microsoft working on Photos Companion app for iOS and Android

Photos app Windows 10
Photos app Windows 10 (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft is working on a Photos Companion app for iOS and Android. Discovered by Italian blog Aggiornamenti Lumia, the app will apparently allow you to wirelessly transfer photos directly from your phone to a PC on the same Wi-Fi network. The same thing can currently be accomplished by taking advantage of OneDrive's ability to upload new photos and sync them with the Photos app, but Photos Companion will give anyone not currently using OneDrive a way to get their photos onto a PC.

In addition to Photos Companion, Aggiornamenti Lumia also spotted some new features headed to the Windows 10 Photos app in future releases. Those additions will include premium content, like themes, music and special effects, as well as stickers for photos and videos, and more. The features are currently being tested internally, but Windows Insiders, and eventually the public, should get access to them in the future.

Microsoft working on Photos Companion app for iOS and Android

The Photos app has seen quite a bit of focus in recent months, with Microsoft pouring work into Story Remix features, which opens up more editing features for photos and videos. The release of a Photos Companion app on iOS and Android is likely intended to get more people taking advantage of Photos' features on their PC by easing the movement of photos between devices. That's something that makes much more sense now that Microsoft has all but abandoned its own mobile platform in favor of bolstering its efforts to populate Android and iOS with its apps and services.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl