How to interact between my iPhone and Windows desktop has always been a tricky task for me. As iPhone does not open the Bluetooth API, we cannot share files between iPhone and other devices over Bluetooth just like with Android devices, even though the version of the provided Bluetooth is 5.1! Airdrop is limited to Apple’s ecosystem, though I admit Airdrop is a convenient way for file sharing, I still won’t buy a Mac only for that. I need both developer tools and office tools, which means I have to stick with Windows, or more precisely, Windows 10/11 Professional while installing a virtual machine for Linux.

When I wanted to send a file from my iPhone to my Windows laptop, I used to send an email to myself. This could be annoying as I have already got so many emails, I do not want to see more sent from myself. I also do not want to use iTunes as it is another burden for me.

Then, I found Intel Unison, which perfectly fills this gap. According to the introduction on its product home page, Intel Unison aims to connect the PC and devices effortlessly, and after trying on it, yes, it does and does a very good job! Apart from file sharing, it also provides accessible notification push from iPhone to Windows PC, so when I am working with my laptop, I will never miss an important message or call! Besides, we can make a phone call or send a message from the laptop and receive. The connection is established via Bluetooth. Intel’s Unison solution is currently only available on selected laptops certified by Intel EVO on Windows-based PCs, if there is an EVO sticker on your laptop, then it is a certified one and can install Intel’s Unison.

I searched Intel’s Unison in the Microsoft store but did not find any match. There was also no MSI installer provided from Intel’s website. To download Intel’s Unison, there is a trick - Go to this link and a page from the Microsoft store containing the download link to Intel’s Unison will be downloaded. Then click “install,” and that’s it - it will be installed shortly.

Then, go to the app store on the iPhone, just search Intel’s Unison, and install it. After installation, open the app from the iPhone side and the app from the laptop side simultaneously. There will be a guide to get both devices paired through Bluetooth. There involves several permission grants, as for example, Intel Unison needs the notification permission to push notification from the phone to the laptop. Then it’s done.

The only con of Intel’s Unison I think is that it only supports selected EVO certified devices. It could be better if a broader number of devices is supported