Skip to main content

Samsung's Flow app to let you log into your laptop with your phone's fingerprint

If you haven’t heard of Samsung’s Flow, that’s probably because it hasn’t been made widely available. Samsung’s companion app for Galaxy devices is somewhat akin to Microsoft’s Continuity feature on Windows devices: It lets you start something on your phone, put it down, and pick up where you left off on a tablet — or vice versa. But you needn’t worry about missing out. On February 21, Samsung announced that it would expand Flow to support any Windows 10 device.

The new feature will allow Galaxy device owners to unlock Windows machines using their smartphone’s fingerprint sensor, or by entering a “pattern.” It’s a feature Samsung introduced last year, but exclusively for the Galaxy TabPro S — non-Samsung computers couldn’t take advantage.

Recommended Videos

The change of heart is reportedly due to consumer demand. According to SamMobile, Flow used Windows 10’s Windows Hello Companion Device Framework, a development hook that allows third-party devices to verify Windows users, authenticate payments, and even log into websites. The new Flow app will expand on that implementation.

Flow is good for more than just security. Once activated through Android’s share menu (or a dedicated Flow button, in some apps), it provides a list of target devices to which you’re free to beam content. If you select a video, picture, or document, it’ll pop up on the tablet, phone, or Windows computer in question. Even more impressively, video calls placed on one device can be seamlessly resumed on another.

Flow can also serve as a bookmarking tool — you can save an app’s state and pick it back up later, sort of like a pause button on a game console. It synchronizes phone call and text message notifications. It links paired desktop and tablet devices to mobile hot spots automatically. And Samsung says additional features are on the way. Eventually, Flow will be able to synchronize applications and mirror apps.

Samsung’s not the only one trying to reduce the friction between smartphones, tablets, and workstation PCs. Microsoft’s Cortana app for Android devices synchronizes notifications about calls, incoming messages, low battery, and app notifications between multiple devices. On a Windows machine, missed calls and message notifications are actionable — you can respond with canned replies like “I’ll get back to you soon.” And you can reply to some messages directly from your PC.

The Flow app with expanded Windows device support expected be released after the next major Windows 10 update, which is the Windows 10 Creators Update, in early April. Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s the month Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy S8, its next flagship smartphone.

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: Which app should you use?
Google messages versus samsung messages app icons side by side on Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Amid the rise of third-party messaging apps, texting remains a popular means of messaging in the U.S. If you own an Android phone, you've likely used or heard of Google Messages, which is positioned as the default text messaging app for Android. It is the culmination of Google's long history with multiple messaging platforms. Google has pursued smartphone companies to use its Dialer and Messages apps as their default since at least 2017 and now mandates them to use Google Messages as the default messaging app on all devices.

Meanwhile, if you have been a Samsung user in the past, you have likely also known and experienced the Samsung Messages app, which comes preinstalled on all Samsung phones and cannot be uninstalled. This is despite losing its spot as the default messaging app on Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Read more
If you have one of these apps on your Android phone, delete it immediately
The app drawer on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

The NSO Group raised security alarms this week, and once again, it’s the devastatingly powerful Pegasus malware that was deployed in Jordan to spy on journalists and activists. While that’s a high-profile case that entailed Apple filing a lawsuit against NSO Group, there’s a whole world of seemingly innocuous Android apps that are harvesting sensitive data from an average person’s phone.
The security experts at ESET have spotted at least 12 Android apps, most of which are disguised as chat apps, that actually plant a Trojan on the phone and then steal details such as call logs and messages, remotely gain control of the camera, and even extract chat details from end-to-end encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp.
The apps in question are YohooTalk, TikTalk, Privee Talk, MeetMe, Nidus, GlowChat, Let’s Chat, Quick Chat, Rafaqat, Chit Chat, Hello Chat, and Wave Chat. Needless to say, if you have any of these apps installed on your devices, delete them immediately.
Notably, six of these apps were available on the Google Play Store, raising the risk stakes as users flock here, putting their faith in the security protocols put in place by Google. A remote access trojan (RAT) named Vajra Spy is at the center of these app's espionage activities.

A chat app doing serious damage

Read more
Have a Samsung phone? This is the one app you have to download
Samsung Goodlock app logo.

The main page of the Samsung Good Lock app Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

Samsung’s One UI is a mine of hidden features, especially for users that are deep into customizing every aspect of their phone. The most obvious place to start is enabling the developer options and digging into the Labs section. But there is still a ton of functional and aesthetic ground left to cover, which is often not possible even if you turn to third-party tools and launchers.

Read more