There seems to be no end in sight to the Techtember madness. After Apple’s iPhone 14 launch earlier this month and just before the Google Pixel 7 launch next month, Intel managed to squeeze out time and held its press conference yesterday to unveil its new 13th Gen Raptor Lake desktop-class CPUs. At the event, Intel also showcased a new app called Intel Unison, which will make its way to your laptop soon and allow you to use your Android or iOS smartphone together with your Windows device like never before.
What Does the Intel Unison app do?
In essence, the software’s purpose is to minimize the constant device switching we do nowadays. It installs on your Windows device and connects to your Android or iOS smartphone, and lets you do just about everything. It allows users to take phone calls, transfer documents, send and receive SMS messages, drag-n-drop photos, and do much more seamlessly.
For example, you’d be able to quickly take a photo or scan a document on your phone and send it over to your Windows laptop for editing without using a cable or saving it to the cloud and then downloading it on your laptop. Instead, the photo will just show up in your laptop’s ‘Unison Gallery’. It will also let you push files from your Windows PC to your phone.
While some of the functionality is already available via Microsoft’s Your Phone app on Windows, the Unison brings some additional features, such as support for iPhones. It also makes for a faster experience since Intel’s app can use Wi-Fi Direct or specific drivers to have a deeper connection. It even syncs your smartphone’s notifications with your Windows laptop — something that Apple’s ecosystem can’t do just yet.
One important thing to note here is that it will only work on Intel Evo certified laptops. As for its launch, the software isn’t available to download right now. Intel’s Senior Director for Mobile Client Platforms, Daniel Rogers, says that Unison will be rolled out later this year and will be available on select 12th Generation Core laptops from Acer, HP, and Lenovo. In order to use Unison, you will need to download the app from the Google Play Store or Apple Store. There is a minimum requirement for Android 9 or iOS 15 operating systems as well.
Android and Windows get a taste of the Apple Ecosystem
I have been a MacBook user almost all my life. While I used an Android device till 2017, I picked up an iPhone in the summer of 2018 and instantly realized why people value the ‘Apple ecosystem.’ Everything seems to gel so well. You can share files without any interruptions, copy-paste texts and images without even having to pick up your iPhone, and do much more. It makes for a great experience.
While everyone will tell you this cross-device sync feature is good to have and not a feature that you necessarily need, it becomes hard to live without it once you start using it. I will give you an example: I recently switched to eSIM on my iPhone, and the iMessage iCloud sync stopped working for a day or two. That was the day I realized how reliant I am on this system. Messages weren’t getting through to my Mac, and I had to step away from my desk to my iPhone, plugged in at my bedside, to put in the OTPs.
Unison is Intel’s attempt to deliver this seamless experience to Windows users, who have been asking for it for far too long. While companies like HUAWEI and Samsung have taken the matter into their own hands and have given a go by rolling out exclusive connectivity features for their own devices, Intel is taking a different approach as it looks to build a solution from the core level for all devices, regardless of the manufacturer.
What are your thoughts on Intel Unison? Will such a feature help you improve your productivity? Let us know in the comments section below!
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