Overview of Windows 365 App and Features for Cloud PC

In this article, you’ll learn how to download and install Windows 365 app which will make it easier to access your cloud PC from your existing computer.

Windows 365 app is coming to Windows 11 through the Microsoft Store, which will make it easier to access your cloud PC from your existing computer. With the app, you can use your Cloud PC as a window or full screen. The Windows 365 App was first announced at Ignite 2022.

The Windows 365 app is now in public preview, providing a direct path to Windows 365 from the Task Bar or Start menu with a personal, customized experience that can be tailored to each individual. You can access Windows 365 Cloud PC directly from your taskbar or start menu.

What is Windows 365 App?

The Windows 365 app provides a unified end-user experience that feels completely integrated with Windows. It minimizes friction for IT administrators by allowing employees to access client and cloud PCs with a single sign-on experience.

For those who are unfamiliar, Windows 365 Cloud PC is essentially a virtual machine that is stored on the cloud. It appears and acts like any other computer, but because it is cloud-based, you can use it from anywhere, and all of your data and apps are accessible from everywhere.

Currently, to access the Cloud PC, you must either use a web browser or Microsoft Remote Desktop client. The new Windows 365 App will integrate more closely with Windows 11, making your cloud PCs desktop available right in the taskbar, as if it were a virtual desktop on your PC. Microsoft had previously hinted at this, but the Windows 365 app is now available in Microsoft Store for testing.

Windows 365 App Key Features

According to Microsoft, the Windows 365 app offers key value-adds, including:

• Use of a Cloud PC as a window or full screen.
• High-performing, reliable experiences for Microsoft Teams, multimedia redirection, and other Microsoft 365 apps.
• User actions to Restart, Reset, Restore, Rename, and Troubleshoot Cloud PCs available directly from Windows.
• A direct single sign-on experience and Accessibility using screen reader and keyboard shortcuts.
• Support for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Microsoft Authenticator for secure access to Cloud PCs.
• Regular and automatic app updates to ensure employees are using the most up-to-date version of Windows 365.

System Requirements for Installing Windows 365 App

The following requirements are

• OS: Windows 11 version 22000.0 or higher.
• Architecture: x64 (64-bit).
• Memory: 2 GB minimum and 4 GB recommended.

Get the Windows 365 App from Microsoft Store

Let’s look at the steps to download and install Windows 365 App from Microsoft Store. Launch the Microsoft Store on Windows 11 PC from the taskbar. In the Microsoft Store, type “Windows 365 App” in the search box and press enter key. From the search results, select Windows 365 App.

To download and install Windows 365 app from Microsoft store, click on Get. This will download and install the latest version (Version 1.0.121.0) of W365 app on your Windows 11 PC.

By hosting the app in Microsoft store, you get automatic app updates which means you’re always using the most up-to-date version of Windows 365.

You can also download the Windows 365 app directly from windows365.microsoft.com. Soon, the Windows 365 app will ship as part of Windows 11, so it will be pre-installed without any need to download from the Microsoft Store or windows365.microsoft.com.

Launch Windows 365 App on Windows 11 PC

You can launch the Windows 365 App on your Windows PC by clicking Start and typing Windows 365 in the search box. From the search results, select the Windows 365 app to launch.

Tip: After the user installs the Windows 365 app, they can pin the Windows 365 app to the taskbar or Start menu to make it faster and easier to launch.

After you launch the app, the first step you need to do is login with an user account that is assigned a proper license to access a Cloud PC. Enter the email and password and complete the sign-in process.

Connect to Cloud PC using Windows 365 App

Once you have signed-in to Windows 365 app, you can see the Cloud PC assigned to the user. On the Welcome Cloud PC window, you can see the hardware specs of the cloud PC and there is a connect button. To connect to the Cloud PC from Windows 365 app, click on the Connect button. You will need to sign in again to gain access to the Cloud PC.

When you select Connect, the new interactive connection progress interface will be shown. The user actions to Restart, Reset, Restore, Rename, and Troubleshoot are also available from here. Your session will start automatically in full-screen mode with multi-display mode enabled.