Apple apps and services usually work brilliantly well on Apple devices, but what about when you’re on a computer that doesn’t run macOS? While using Apple apps on Windows isn’t perfect, it’s significantly easier than it used to be—and now you can get most of your Apple information from a Windows desktop or laptop.
Whatever your scenario, maybe you need to use Microsoft’s operating system temporarily or you’re wondering how to buy Windows laptop may limit what you can do with your existing Apple services – here’s the status right now.
iCloud for Windows
Your first port of call should probably be here iCloud for Windows: This is an official Apple product and covers photos, calendars, contacts, Safari bookmarks, passwords saved in iCloud, and files stored in iCloud Drive. It doesn’t install Apple’s own apps for these tasks, but makes all of these data types available to Windows programs.
After signing in with your Apple account credentials, you can select the files and information you want to sync with Windows. For example, the utility will create an iCloud Photos tab in the Microsoft Photos app if you want, and add your Apple contacts and calendars to Outlook. You don’t need to enable all the features offered – you can choose if you prefer.
The main iCloud Dashboard for Windows shows you the syncs you’ve configured and how much free space you have left in your iCloud storage locker. From here, you can set up connections that haven’t been established yet, or turn off those you no longer need. Just click on any category to see the available options.
Perhaps the most notable import that iCloud for Windows doesn’t handle is email. To get your iCloud emails in Outlook for Windows, open Outlook and click the gear icon in the upper right corner. Choose Accounts and Add profile, then enter your Apple email account credentials. If you’ve turned on two-factor authentication for your Apple ID (and you should have), you’ll need to create an app-specific password from your Apple account on the web – go to Application specific passwordsthen click on + (plus).
iCloud on the web
Another option that you can use as well as instead of iCloud for Windows is iCloud on the web: You don’t get the same tight integration with your Windows programs, and it’s not as consistent, but it’s arguably easier to use. Just sign in with your Apple ID username and password and you’ll access the web versions of Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Photos, iCloud Drive, Notes, Reminders, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and even Find My.
Everything works pretty much as you’d expect, and while the web versions of these apps can be a bit basic in certain areas, they’re good enough for most people. For example, iCloud Mail lets you set rules for incoming messages and automatic email replies based on a certain date range.
As for photos and videos, it’s not quite the same as having the actual files on your Windows PC, but maybe you don’t need that level of sync after all. iCloud Photos still lets you download and upload images and videos easily enough, though nothing gets in the way of editing features.
One note about iCloud for the web: If you have turned on Enhanced data protection for your iCloud account (which is generally a good idea), you’ll need to authorize the web connection every time you start a new session. Just remember to have one of your registered Apple devices handy.
Movies, music and other applications
We haven’t covered everything because there’s still the question of getting yours Apple Music and Apple TV content to Windows. It really took Apple a while to develop these apps for Microsoft’s operating system — quite a long time after they appeared on macOS — but now you can get both Apple Music and Apple TV through the Microsoft Store.
As with MacOS, these apps can be used with or without an active subscription to Apple Music or Apple TV Plus. Of course, if you’re not currently subscribed to these services, you can only access files stored locally and other content you’ve purchased directly through Apple to keep.
If you need, you can get both Apple Music and Apple TV through a web browser, though the experience isn’t as complete in terms of features and options — and you can’t access local files using the web apps. It’s handy if you’re using someone else’s Windows computer or just want temporary access to these apps.
For all the other Apple apps we haven’t mentioned so far, there’s no Windows equivalent you can turn to—at least not yet. Let’s say you’ve ever tried to get your Apple stuff on Windows over the years. In that case, you’ll know that it’s a lot less of a hassle now than it used to be: Just because you’re heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t also invest in a Windows desktop or laptop.
