The “Windows App” now has mobile app support

Microsoft has given the Windows App “GA” status and released to the masses along with long awaited mobile app support which will open more doors and use cases for Windows Cloud PCs and Virtual Desktops. This will allow businesses to bring the power of Windows to virtually any device. Whether you’re using macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, or even another Windows PC, you can now stream a copy of Windows seamlessly.

You can read the full Microsoft Blog on this > here <

What’s so good about the Windows App?

Havig been in preview for some time (previously there were multiple apps to use for different virtualised experiences on Windows such as Remote Desktop app, different websites and third-party apps etc) but now we have a new single experience 🙂 This provides:

  • Unified Experience: The Windows App serves as a single place to streaming all your corporate and development Windows desktops including Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Remote Desktop services.
  • Customisable Home screen: Which allows users to tailor the app to suit their needs by pinning specific desktops, configuring the join experience and even simple configuration of things like multi-tasking and app switching with Windows 11 (known as Windows 365 Switch).
  • Multi-Screen Support: The Windows App lets users customise and extend their experience (just like a traditional / physical desktop) with multiple display support.
  • USB Redirection: Windows App allows full support of local USB devices including speakers, mics, webcams, storage devices, and printers as if they are directly connected to your Cloud PC.
  • Single Sign On – The Windows App supports single sign on with Windows 365 and AVD with Entra ID.

Who can use the Windows App?

Presently, the app is limited to Microsoft work and school accounts, making it ideal for professionals and students who need to access their work PCs remotely. It’s not available for consumers, but it does make Windows 365 and AVD simple to use on personal BYOD devices that need to access work devices. Something I do often.

Downloading the Windows App

The Windows app is available for download from the Microsoft Store and the Apple App Store. It is also available on the Google Play store but is now in public preview.

User Experience

The user experience is fantastic and shows the attention to detail, listening to user feedback and alignment with the core Windows Development team. Microsoft have said that the Windows App will start shipping as standard out of box app on Coporate Devices running Windows 11 too.

Windows 365 Desktop on Samsung S24 via TV

Windows App on Samsung S24 through TV

The image above (which is pretty cool) is Windows 365 Running on my Samsung S24 displayed through a TV (using Samsung Dex) – and yes, I am using Copilot on PowerPoint.

Windows 11 Experience below

The Future

I’d love to see Windows App come to more devices like high-end TVs and tablets in the future just like Microsoft have done with Xbox Game Streaming.

Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop recognized as a Leader in 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service

Microsoft has been recognized as a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service (DaaS). According to Gartner, DaaS is defined as “the provision of virtual desktops by a public cloud or service provider” and encompasses a variety of cloud solutions, such as Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop, which are described in a way that is familiar to customers of varying backgrounds and technical expertise.

Given the newness to the market of Microsoft’s two offerings in this space, it’s incredible to see Microsoft leading in this catagory (ahead of the golden players like Citrix and VMware).

Gartner stated in their report that “Microsoft is one of the few vendors with significant global presence,” and “Microsoft is in a unique position, as it owns the architecture for Windows, Intune, Microsoft 365 applications, Azure, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Windows 365.”

Microsoft have two offerings in this space which are both designed to provide organisations with secure and versatile cloud desktop solutions that support flexible work options.

  • Windows 365 – a fully managed DaaS solution that securely streams personalised Windows desktop, apps, settings, and content from the Microsoft Cloud to your Cloud PC which can be accessed from the device of your choice.
  • Azure Virtual Desktop, a full enterprise cloud virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platform that delivers hosted remote desktops and apps with flexibility and control without compromising on security.

You u can check out my short user experience demo on Windows365 here.

Windows Virtual Desktop becomes Azure Virtual Desktop

Microsoft announced today that they are rebranding Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) to Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD).

In the annoucement, Microsoft also said that a number of new enhancements (some of which have gone into public preview from today) are coming, which are part of the wider and longer term vision and the changing needs of customers. In the annoucement Microsoft said that the COVID19 pandemic has resulted in organisation moving rapidly to Windows Virtual Desktop for “secure, easy to manage, productive personal computing experience with Windows 10 from the cloud”.

Improved Azure AD Support

Azure Virtual Desktop will support the ability for users to domain join their virtual desktops directly to AAD using just their credentials. They are also fully removing the need for organisations to need Windows domain controller allowing Azure AD as the only or primary authoritive directory service.

Azure Virtual Desktop will also add further support for secure sign on and single sign on, bringing support for smart cards and FIDO2 keys

Another feature now out in public preview is the ability to enroll and manage Windows 10 Enterprise multi-sessions virtual machines through Endpoint Manager just like admins would for physical machines. This further improves the process of managing both physical and virtual desktops using the Endpoint Manager admin center.

Enhanced Endpoint Manager support.

Microsoft have said they are also adding support for IT to be able to automatically enroll these virtual machines using Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly Intune), bringing a much more “streamlined” deployment and management experience.

Also coming soon (and in public preview from today) is the ability to be able to enroll and manage Windows 10 Enterprise multi-sessions virtual machines through Microsoft Endpoint Manager in the same way that physical devices are managed today. This closes the management gap and streamlines the process of managing both physical and virtual desktops using the same Endpoint Manager experience.

New QuickStart Experience

Microsoft said that new deployment onboarding experience which will be available soon (in preview first naturally). This is designed to help organisations initiate fully automated deployments from the Azure portal using just a simple wizard style process.

New “per user” pricing model

Yes.. As it pricing and license wasn’t complicated enough, there are new pricing options coming for organisation to leverage Azure Virtual Desktop VDI and streamed applications in the form of a true SaaS based model.

To make this simpler, Microsoft have announced a new monthly per-user pricing

This new pricing will launch on January 1st, 2022, and will be $5.50 per user per month for apps, and $10 per user per month for apps plus desktops.

A launch promo will mean organisations will be able to use Azure Virtual Desktop for streaming first-party or third-party applications to external users at no cost from July 14, 2021, to December 31, 2021, after which they will need to keep paying for the underlying Azure infrastructure.

You can read about the pricing options here.