Okay let’s face it. The Windows 365 app is just ONE more app to consume our Windows 365 or Cloud PC. But it brings something to the table.
With the Remote Desktop app that we have all learned to connect to our Cloud PCs, AVDs or published apps. And it’s a great app, especially if you work as a consultant like I do and have multiple environments that you connect to, I connect to 2-3 different tenants on a weekly basis. But the Remote Desktop lacks key features when it comes to Windows 365.
If you have ever used Windows 365 through the browser, you know what I’m talking about. There is NO WAY to reboot, restore or troubleshoot a Cloud PC from within the Remote Desktop app, you can simply just connect to your session, and for anymore “advanced” user action you have had to rely on the browser.
Enter the Windows 365 application.
In the Windows 365 app you are able, as in the Remote Desktop app, to connect to your Cloud PCs which are connected to your signed in account. This is the caveat though. Only machines available for the signed in account are displayed, if you are running multiple accounts (like I do) you will have to switch accounts.
However, the features in the Windows 365 app make it worth it, since I can fully control my Cloud PC from within the app, and I don’t have to rely on the website to perform addition actions like I needed previously.
If you have ever used the Windows 365 website to connect to your Cloud PC, you will recognize this experience. The layout is familiar to the web, but you get all the benefits of using the app (like multiple monitors, smart sizing, and Teams optimizations), but you also get the user actions previously exclusive to the web portal.
Working with the Windows 365 app compared to the Remote Desktop app is for me as an end-user not really any different, other the account part mentioned earlier. But if you only use one account, like most are, you will never notice this difference.
You should really check out the new Windows 365 app which is in preview. You can find it on this link or if you search the Microsoft Store for Windows 365. But like always with preview things, be aware that it’s in preview!
