KDE Connect lets you sync Android and Linux

KDE Connect has emerged as a solution that lets you receive Android notifications on your Linux desktop. The app links your Android device with the Linux desktop, enabling a functionality similar to Microsoft’s Windows Continuum and Apple’s Continuity.

One of the prime advantages of KDE Connect is its compatibility with all Linux desktop environments. This means that you do not need to install KDE Plasma on your system to enable the synchronisation.

You can link your device and Linux PC together using the KDE Connect app. It allows you to access your smartphone’s notifications and SMS messages directly on your desktop. You can even respond to them from the large Linux screen. Further, the app offers many other useful features like triggering custom commands and using an Android smartphone as a remote music controller. KDE Connect has been under development for several months. The latest KDE Connect 1.0 adds the SMS-reply feature. The connection between the PC and Android is made over the local network, which avoids the possibility of a server security breach. Notably, KDE Connect uses TLS encryption to ensure a secure connection.

Once the smartphone is connected, you can ignore it completely and depend solely on the Linux PC. On the other hand, the client app can even display PC notifications on the mobile device. There is also the option to trigger your smartphone by performing certain actions on the PC.

You can download the free app from the Google Play store or F-Droid. KDE is also working on a framework for universal apps.

Currently, the KDE Connect client is available for Android and BlackBerry devices. However, its community is in development to build native support for the iPhone in the upcoming version.