Claude Cowork breaks out of the desktop: now in beta on web and mobile, with sessions that keep running in the cloud

The biggest limitation of Claude Cowork since its January launch, desktop-only, app open, computer awake, is disappearing. Anthropic announced on July 7, 2026 that Cowork is coming to the web and mobile in beta, with sessions that run remotely in the cloud instead of on your own machine.

How you get to it. On the web, you start a Cowork session straight from the home screen at claude.ai. On mobile, Cowork lives in the sidebar of the existing Claude app for iOS and Android; there is no separate app to download. The desktop app remains the place for working directly against local folders.

Cloud sessions are the real news. In the new beta, sessions and files live with your Claude account rather than on one device. A task started at your desk keeps going after you close the laptop; you can monitor its progress from your phone and pick up the finished result later. Claude still asks for input when a decision or permission is needed, so handing off work does not mean handing over control.

Chat and Cowork are growing together. Anthropic says it will unify Claude chat and Cowork, putting them in the same space with access to the same files. The line between 'asking Claude something' and 'having Claude do something' is deliberately being erased.

Rollout and the usage promotion. The beta is rolling out over several weeks, starting with Max, then Team and Enterprise, with Pro plans following. To mark the expansion, Anthropic extended the doubled Cowork usage limits through August 5, 2026.

What it changes in practice. Until now, every Cowork guide (including ours) contained the same caveats: the app must stay open, the computer awake, and scheduled tasks only run while the desktop is alive. Cloud sessions remove that class of limitation for work that doesn't need your local file system. For tasks against local folders, the desktop app and its rules still apply, but for research, documents in your Claude account, and connector-driven workflows, Cowork now genuinely goes where you go.