Microsoft offers iCloud Photos integration through the Photos app in Windows 11

iPhone owners will be able to view iCloud photos directly on their PC using the Microsoft Photos app included with the Windows 11 operating system.

Already past the testing stage, the functionality is gradually being enabled for Windows 11 users, with the updated version of the Photos app allowing iCloud login for viewing photo collections taken with iPhones. Based on cloud technology, the functionality eliminates the need to manually transfer files to a PC and is virtually instantaneous, with newly obtained photos immediately synced to the PC as well.

So once you’ve logged into your Apple account, photos are automatically synced between your PC and your iPhone/iPad:

“The Microsoft Photos app lets you view, organize, and share photos from your computer and OneDrive, and with this update, you’ll be able to add and access iCloud photos directly from the app. These will appear alongside photos from other sources, organized in the new “All Photos” interface, as well as on a dedicated page you can access from the side navigation panel.”

What’s new in the Microsoft Photos app:

• Redesigned interface, offering a new viewer mode with access to multiple photo sources
• Performance optimizations
• Backup pictures to OneDrive account directly from the app.
• View iCloud photos directly in Photos app.
• Memories feature, for auto-generating custom photo collages
• Auto-organisation of photos into albums and search option in collections stored in the cloud.

The new version of Microsoft Photos is available through the Microsoft Store as an update to the Photos app already installed on Windows 11 PCs.