Dell has announced that it will be discontinuing its phone-to-PC app Mobile Connect, which is also sometimes known as Alienware Mobile Connect. According to a support page via the company’s website, the service is set to fully shut down for users in the US, Canada and Japan starting 31 January 2023, though it is slated to cease earlier in other countries as soon as 30 November this year.
For the uninitiated, Mobile Connect lets users synchronise their iOS or Android devices to their Dell PCs – enabling for text messages, calls and notifications to be displayed on the latter’s screen, as well as transferring files wirelessly from one another. On top of that, the app also enables users to mirror their smartphone screen, which in turn lets them operate the device directly via desktop.
If all these sound familiar to you, that’s because Microsoft had also introduced a similar app known as Phone Link (previously known as Your Phone) for its Windows operating system. Unlike Dell’s own software, which is only available to the company’s laptops or desktop products (including its Alienware sub-brand), Phone Link is made available as standard on Windows 10 and 11.
However, one caveat that Microsoft’s phone-to-pc app has is that its features are only compatible with Android smartphones. It’s also worth noting that Phone Link was initially exclusive to Samsung handsets as well as the company’s own Surface Duo series before support for other devices were added after the app’s rebranding.
Dell did not disclose why it decided to discontinue Mobile Connect, though it is quite likely because it functions too similarly to Microsoft’s app which is more widely available. Though the phone-to-PC experience can be easily replaced by Phone Link, the same can’t be said for Dell users who are using iPhones as their daily driver.
The support page adds that Mobile Connect will no longer be available for download starting 30 November 2022 – the same day that the service is set to shut down for those located in countries outside of the US, Canada and Japan.
(Source: Dell [official website])
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