Here’s How Windows 10 Apps Will Run Across PCs, Tablets, and Phones

Microsoft claims Windows 10 is the operating system that finally unifies all your computing devices. One OS to rule them all. What does that actually mean in practice? We’re literally finding out right now.And the answer—at least for Microsoft’s own new universal apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Photos—is that the exact same apps will run across your laptop, phone, and tablet… automatically formatted to fit the screen. The exact same code. That sound you hear might be developers rejoicing.

They’ll even automatically sync your place in the apps, presumably via OneDrive, so each time you zoom in on your calendar or flag an email or pick some photos to look at, those actions will be reflected on your other devices as well. Just pick up where you left off on another screen.

You can see some examples in the pictures below. The cool thing you can’t see: Microsoft only touched one of these two screens, phone or desktop, to make changes on both nearly instantly.

What’s more, there will be cross-platform games across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs, thanks to a new Xbox app that lets you invite PC users to Xbox games—and vice-versa.