Samsung phones and Windows PCs make a great pair thanks to the long-standing partnership between Samsung and Microsoft. Over the years, the two companies have worked closely to bridge the gap between mobile and desktop experiences. While you can already use most of Microsoft’s apps on your Galaxy phone, the other way around is also true.
Samsung has developed a suite of Windows apps that bring your Galaxy phone’s best features straight to your computer. You’ll find several of them on the Microsoft Store, ready to help you sync photos and videos, mirror your phone’s screen, back up data, take notes, and even manage calls and messages directly from your PC. Each app feels almost identical to its mobile version, combining familiar design with the power and convenience of a full desktop experience.
All of these apps work on any Windows PC, regardless of the manufacturer, but the experience is even richer on a Samsung Galaxy Book.
Organize and edit photos on a PC
On Galaxy phones, Samsung Gallery easily outshines Google Photos. You can use its identical Windows version to view, organize, and edit your photos right from your PC. All the syncing happens through OneDrive, so as long as your photos are backed up, they’ll appear on your PC.
Sure, you could stick with the built-in Windows Photos app for this, but Samsung Gallery gives you far more control. You can search by keywords, types, and even faces, which makes it effortless to find that one sunset shot or the perfect selfie.
Managing albums is just as easy as it is on your phone. You also get the full suite of editing tools, from basics like crop, rotate, and resize to advanced options like shadow and reflection erasers for quick touch-ups. The best part is that these editing features work on photos stored locally on your PC too.
Capture ideas anywhere, anytime
Cross-device syncing is essential for any note-taking app, and Samsung Notes nails it. While it doesn’t have a web version like some of its competitors, you can grab the official PC app right from the Microsoft Store. Once installed, it seamlessly connects with your Galaxy phone or tablet.
You can type, handwrite, draw, record audio, and even attach images or PDFs—all within a clean, distraction-free interface. Samsung Notes also supports PDFs, so you can import and annotate them on your PC. If that’s not enough, you can export your notes to DOCX format and continue editing in Word.
Even if syncing across devices isn’t important to you, Samsung Notes still stands out as one of the most feature-rich note-taking apps.
If you don’t want to use Samsung Notes, you can also use Microsoft OneNote and sync all your notes across devices.
Connect your phone and PC effortlessly
Your Windows PC already comes with the Microsoft Phone Link app, which connects your phone to your computer. And if you’re using a Galaxy device, you even get access to a few exclusive Phone Link features. What you may not know, Samsung also offers its own version of this called Samsung Flow.
Samsung Flow is built specifically for Galaxy devices, and it’s all about making your phone and PC feel like one. You can view and respond to phone notifications directly from your computer, mirror your phone’s screen in real time, and sync your clipboards so you can copy on one device and paste on the other seamlessly. You can also transfer files and text between devices using its chat-like interface.
While Samsung Flow isn’t quite as feature-rich as Phone Link, it does support wired connections for syncing. This means that even without a Wi-Fi connection, you can still sync notifications and mirror your Galaxy phone to the PC.
Backup and restore with ease
There are plenty of ways to back up your Samsung phone’s data. However, if you don’t have external storage or don’t want to pay for cloud storage, backing up your device to your PC can help. Samsung Smart Switch is your best option for this.
Smart Switch goes far beyond just saving photos, videos, and files. It also backs up messages, call logs, contacts, calendar events, reminders, and even device settings. Similarly, it can preserve data from most built-in Samsung apps. Personally, I rely on it to back up my Secure Folder data so I can restore it if my phone is lost or stolen.
This app becomes especially useful if you ever need to factory reset your phone or migrate to a new Galaxy device that hasn’t even been purchased yet. With Samsung Smart Switch, you can restore all your data without much hassle.
Samsung’s Windows apps are a perfect example of how well the Galaxy and Windows ecosystems now work together. They’re not for everyone, but if you’re someone who spends most of your day on a PC, you’ll definitely appreciate the convenience they bring.
