Anthropic just took Claude Cowork mobile. Starting Tuesday, the company’s AI work platform runs on iOS, Android, and the web for the first time, according to The Verge AI. Until now, Cowork only lived inside the Claude desktop app for macOS and Windows. That wall is coming down.
The rollout starts with Max subscribers. Anthropic says users on other Claude plans will get access “in the coming weeks,” as The Verge AI reports. So if you’re not paying for the top tier yet, you’re waiting a little longer.
What stands out here is the shift to the cloud. Cowork sessions now run in the cloud by default, which changes how the whole thing feels day to day.
What’s new
Here’s what the mobile and web launch actually delivers:
- Cross-device continuity. Because sessions run in the cloud, you can start a task on your laptop and pick it up on your phone. No more being chained to one machine.
- Background tasks with the laptop closed. Cowork can keep working even when your computer is shut. That’s a real change for anyone who kicks off long-running jobs and walks away.
- Scheduled tasks that don’t need you online. Anthropic says scheduled Cowork tasks will now run even when none of your devices are connected. The work happens whether you’re around or not.
- Push notifications. Claude can ping your phone when Cowork has something ready for you to review or approve. You stay in the loop without babysitting the app.
- Doubled usage limits, extended. Alongside the launch, Anthropic is stretching its doubled Cowork usage limits through August 5th. More room to actually test what the platform can do.
The desktop still matters
Don’t read this as “mobile replaces desktop.” Anthropic is clear that the “full experience” for Cowork still lives on the desktop app, according to The Verge AI. Local file access is the big one. The desktop version can reach into files on your machine in a way the mobile and web clients can’t.
There’s also a processing choice on desktop. Users can switch between cloud and local processing, so the local option isn’t going away for people who want their work to stay on their own hardware. Mobile and web lean on the cloud. Desktop gives you both.
Why it matters
This is significant because it moves Cowork from a tool you use at your desk to a service that runs around you. The cloud-by-default design is the tell. Anthropic wants Cowork acting more like an agent that works on your behalf in the background and less like an app you have to sit in front of.
That lines up with where the whole industry is pushing. The competition is racing to make AI assistants persistent and proactive rather than session-bound. An assistant that runs scheduled jobs while your devices are offline and taps you on the shoulder when a result needs approval is a different product than a chatbot you open and close. It’s closer to a coworker who keeps going after you log off.
The trade-off worth watching is the split experience. Power users who depend on local file access and local processing still need the desktop app to get everything Cowork offers. Mobile is real access, but it’s not the full platform yet. Anthropic is honest about that gap, and it’s the kind of caveat that matters if you’re deciding whether to lean on the phone version for serious work.
What comes next
Two things to watch. First, the wider rollout to non-Max plans over the coming weeks, which decides how many people actually get their hands on this. Second, whether Anthropic narrows the desktop-versus-mobile feature gap over time or keeps the desktop app as the premium home for Cowork.
For now, the direction is clear. Cowork is no longer stuck on your laptop. Readers can find the full details at the original source.