Samsung is making a few changes to its Flow apps for Android and Windows, which means phones such as the Galaxy S6, S7, and Galaxy S8 will now play nice with Windows 10 PCs.
Specifically, it’s now possible to use Samsung’s Flow apps with the Windows Hello feature of the OS, allowing users to unlock their laptops using their handsets’ fingerprint readers.
Windows Hello is a feature for the latest version of the OS that allows users to sign in using facial recognition or their fingerprint.
Related: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
Last year, Samsung allowed users to unlock its Galaxy TabPro S, which runs on Windows 10, using the Samsung Flow app for Android.
Now, the latest update to the app means any Windows 10 PC running the latest update can make use of the feature, as well as a few extras.
For instance, Flow users will now be able to sync their phones with Windows 10 PCs to show phone notifications on the PC screen.
The latest version of Flow is available now, and the full list of newly compatible phones includes the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy A5, Galaxy A7, and the Galaxy Tab S3.
What’s more, Samsung states that any of its phones running on Android Marshmallow onwards will be compatible, as will tablets running Android Nougat onwards.
In order to use the new functionality, you’ll need to download the Flow app on both your Samsung phone, using the Google Play Store, and on your Windows 10 PC, using the WIndows Store.
It’s worth noting you’ll need to be running the latest Windows 10 Creators Update (or newer versions) to use the new Samsung Flow app on your PC.
Let us know what you think of the new functionality in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
