For most of us, this week is likely to be important because of Google's I/O developer conference, which starts tomorrow. But Microsoft is also desperately trying to push its own relevance on the Android platform at the company's Build 2018 developer conference, which began today and is scheduled to overlap with I/O. Details are sparse, but Microsoft has revealed that it is planning on updating its Android launcher to support the Timeline feature from Windows 10 for enhanced workflow, and it will also be rolling out a new "Your Phone" app for notification mirroring and file sharing. 

For the unfamiliar, Timeline is a cross-device (and now, cross-platform) system made by Microsoft to allow you to move easily between devices, in the vein of Apple's OSX/iOS Continuity. So long as a given app or service supports it, you can pick up whatever it is you were looking at or doing when you swap between supported devices.

Other new features announced for the launcher include "line-of-business app discovery and IT advisement on configuration." In concert with this will be a new way to connect your phone to your Windows-powered PC, providing instant access to messaging, photos, and notifications, which will roll out soon to those in the Windows Insider Program. Based on some blurry screenshots, it might be called "Your Phone."

The news was revealed in a press release today with surprisingly few details. Although the app on the Play Store was recently updated, the changelog doesn't seem to reflect the addition of Timeline support. Given Microsoft's Build 2018 event is still ongoing, we may hear more about both the Launcher changes and the new Your Phone app in the coming days.

UPDATE: 2018/05/10 10:16am PDT BY

In case you didn't quite know what to expect from the new Timeline or Your Phone features, here are a couple of videos that show off what each will look and behave like, as demonstrated at Microsoft's build event.

Source: Microsoft

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