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The best new feature in Windows 11 will only be available to Samsung phone owners

Even though it’s still in beta and only supports Samsung phones, Windows 11 has a cool new feature that makes it easier to connect your computer to a mobile phone using that device as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Preview version 25231 on the Dev Channel introduces the Phone Link app (previously Your Phone), which allows you to easily connect to your phone’s hotspot (early testing channel for Windows Insiders).

If your phone is in range, you can connect to its hotspot with a single click of a button using instant hotspot, eliminating the need to fiddle with the phone’s settings, enter passwords, and so on.

In addition to a Bluetooth-enabled computer, you will need a Samsung smartphone that is running One UI 4.1.1 or later. To use Phone Link, you’ll also need Windows 11 preview build 25231 and the desktop software version v1.22082.111.0 (or better).

See Microsoft’s blog article on the new build for further information on how to get everything set up, as well as a list of the other changes the software giant has made here, most of which are bug fixes (and known issues).

Microsoft, please make this available for devices other than Samsung phones

Using Phone Link, you can quickly and easily turn your phone into a hotspot for your Windows 11 computer, which is a really nice and thoughtful addition.

When you’re out and about and need to connect your Windows 11 laptop to the internet through your smartphone’s cellular connection, for example, you may take use of the instant hotspot. What if you’re at home and your Internet connection suddenly breaks down? You may use this function to switch over to mobile broadband on your phone without any additional setup or delay (until your full-fat broadband comes back on).

The apparent irritation here is that it’s a Samsung-only feature, but for Phone Link users, that specific stumbling block is nothing new, since functionality has been tethered to Samsung handsets solely in the past a number of times.

As soon as possible, please make quick hotspot available on additional phones. Just what is going on, we cannot say. As said up above, this is the early testing channel, thus there is a risk that this feature may be scrapped before Windows 11 is officially released. That seems improbable here, but you never know.

At any rate, maybe this will be available on more than just Samsung smartphones. Even while Microsoft’s own Surface Duo 2, which runs on Android, doesn’t now provide this feature, maybe that will change soon.