Microsoft is building a new “Cross Device Resume” feature for Windows 11 that closely mirrors Apple’s Handoff in macOS. The feature allows users to seamlessly resume an app session from an Android phone on their PC. During a Build 2025 developer session, the company briefly demoed the capability using Spotify before removing the footage, though not before Windows Central and @phantomofearth on X caught it.
Cross-Device Sync from Phone to PC
The concept is simple: if you’re listening to music or using an app on your Android phone, Windows 11 will let you pick up exactly where you left off—no extra steps. A Spotify example showed the app icon appearing in the Windows taskbar with a small badge. Hovering over the icon displayed the prompt: “resume, recently opened on your mobile device.” A click launched the app on PC, resuming the song from the exact moment it left off on the phone.
Aakash Varshney, senior product manager at Microsoft, explained during the Build session that the badge is a “visual nudge” designed to create a smooth, intuitive handoff experience between devices. “No need to search or start over,” he said. “It’s a smooth one-click transition.”
From Project Rome to a Broader Rollout
This isn’t Microsoft’s first attempt at cross-device continuity. Back in 2016, the company introduced Project Rome, which aimed to let apps transfer context and data between devices. But adoption was limited, and the initiative quietly faded. Cross Device Resume appears to be a renewed push, with Spotify as an early example and WhatsApp likely to follow. Microsoft also said third-party developers will be able to integrate the feature into their apps.
The original Build session, titled “Create Seamless Cross-Device Experiences with Windows for your app,” has since been edited to remove the demo. But the core message remains: Windows 11 is stepping closer to the kind of fluid, device-agnostic experience Apple users have had for years.
By embedding this functionality into the operating system itself, Microsoft signals that cross-device workflows are no longer a niche feature—they’re a central part of its Windows 11 vision.