Last September, Intel announced it was working on an app to seamlessly bridge the gap between Android or iOS smartphones and Windows PCs. The app called “Intel Unison” has now been released and has several cool features. You can access your pictures and videos from your smartphone on your PC, quickly transfer files, reply to phone notifications, make calls and much more. So if you’re interested and want to try an alternative to Microsoft’s Phone Link app, learn how to install and use Intel Unison on any Windows 11 PC. Yes, it even works on non-Intel laptops. In this regard, let’s find out the instructions to download and run Intel Unison on any PC and Android or iOS smartphone.
Install Intel Unison on any Windows 11 PC (2023)
In this article, we have included the requirements to run Intel Unison on a Windows 11 PC and provided detailed instructions on how to get it working with your Android or iOS smartphone. You can also find our first impressions of Intel Unison below. Just expand this table and go to any section.
Requirements for using Intel Unison with Android/iOS and Windows
1. To use Intel Unison, you must be running Windows11 on your PC or laptop. The app currently does not support Windows 10 or older operating systems.
2. Your PC must be updated to Windows 11 22H2 Build (22621.0 or later). If you’re still on the older 21H2 build, you can go to the linked guide and update your PC 22H2 stable to build.
3. According to Intel, Unison currently only works on Evo laptops with 13th Gen Intel processors. However, we have Intel Unison installed on one 8th gen non-Evo laptop from Intel in this guide and it worked without problems. I’m sure it will work on AMD and ARM based Windows 11 laptops too.
4. Finally, an Android smartphone must be running Android 9 or higher. For iOS users, an iPhone must be running iOS 15 or higher.
Here’s how to download and install Intel Unison on any Windows 11 PC
1. To download Intel Unison, go to the app’s Microsoft Store page and click “Go to the Store appbutton. This will open Intel Unison’s listing in the Microsoft Store on your Windows 11 PC. Searching directly for the Intel Unison app in the Microsoft Store will not return any results at this time.
2. In the Microsoft Store app, click “To get‘ to download and install Intel Unison.
3. After installing Intel Unison, open the app and go through the Welcome screen. If you reach the pairing screenit’s time to switch to your smartphone.
4. On your iPhone or Android phone: Install the Intel Unison app (Android/iOS). You must allow a number of permissions before you can pair your Windows PC and use the app. After going through the onboarding screen, tap “Scan QR code“.
5. Now scan the QR code displayed on your PC and Intel Unison will start the pairing process automatically. Confirm the code displayed on both devices. If successful, tap Get Started on your smartphone.
5. Now your smartphone will be connected to the Intel Unison app on your PC and you can access almost anything you want. You can transfer files between PC and your smartphone; Access pictures, videos and albums from your phone; Find text messages, make and receive calls; Responses to notifications and more.
Intel Unison: First Impressions and Thoughts
First, I like the fact that Intel Unison is a clearly designed app considering the aesthetics of Windows 11. It’s not one of those bloated apps from manufacturers that, while packed with important functionalities, have terrible UI/UX. Intel has done a very good job on the design front, so kudos for that.
Aside from features, I think Intel has almost all the bases covered, except for streaming Android apps on PC. In the future, the company could add the ability to stream apps directly from the phone to your PC – like Microsoft’s Phone Link app does for Samsung phones.
I’ve tested all the features currently available in this app, including calling from PC, and they worked absolutely great. Unlike the Phone Link app, Intel Unison offers all the photo and video albums from your phone, making it easier to export whatever you’re looking for.
What blew my mind next was the lightning fast file transfer Speeds provided by Intel Unison. It was able to send a 40MB video file from my computer to my Android phone in just 3 seconds over a peer-to-peer (Wi-Fi) connection, which is amazing. Note that the transmission speed will be slower when you are connected via Bluetooth to make a call. It is therefore recommended to turn off Bluetooth if you want to transfer large files quickly.
Also, you can access and reply to text messages and it shows notifications from all your smartphone apps. You can reply to the notifications from the Action Center of Windows 11. Cool right? Overall I would give the Intel Unison app a big thumbs up just for the excellent file transfer speed. Other than that, it’s packed with features, and they work as intended.
Connect your smartphone and PC with Intel Unison
So, here is how you can set up Intel Unison on your Windows 11 computer and Android or iOS smartphone. The installation process is simple, all you need to do is scan the QR code and allow permissions and you’re good to go. Anyway, if you want to use a similar app, the Dell Mobile Connect app on Windows 10/11 is pretty good too. And if you want to manually mirror your Android phone to PC and cast apps, you can follow our detailed tutorial. If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.
