Google working on DeX-like desktop mode for Android phones

Samsung has long offered the ability for your phone (or tablet) to power a desktop OS experience when connected to an external display. Google is now working on a DeX-like desktop mode experience for Android.

With Android 14 QPR3, Google introduced DisplayPort mirroring for the Pixel 8 and later. You could mirror your phone screen on supported display or project content, like Google Slides. In Android 15 QPR1, Google introduced desktop windowing for the Pixel Tablet in developer preview.

Those two experiences are now coming together with “desktop windowing on secondary displays.” Android Authority has now enabled this developer option with the latest Android 16 beta. A Pixel (8 Pro) connected to a laptop shows the Android Taskbar with pinned and recent apps, as well as launcher access and 3-button navigation at the right.

At the top you see the time and other status bar icons. If you drag down, you get dual-column Quick Settings and notifications, just like on today’s tablets and foldables. Apps open in windows that you can resize, move around, and place side-by-side, with physical keyboard and trackpad controls. You can continue to use the phone when desktop windowing is active.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

It’s unknown when any of this will launch. The bigger question is how this fits into Google’s broader approach to desktop computing. Work to have ChromeOS use more Android under-the-hood is in progress, while Google is clearly adding desktop features to Android that could open the door to proper laptops (or convertibles) running a desktop version of Android.

If the work on making a desktop Android experience is already happening, letting phones run a DeX-like experience is almost an after-thought, with these mobile devices clearly powerful enough to run everything. Some people clearly like and want DeX, but the strategy for Google seems confusing. People are arguably more familiar with the concept of buying a dedicated device (laptop) for their desktop computing needs. Introducing the ability to use their phone as their desktop, requires them to have an external display and keyboard/mouse, or an existing laptop where the native OS is — for whatever reason — not sufficient for their needs.

I do wonder if Google is introducing this underlying desktop mode support in Android primarily for Samsung’s benefit.

Meanwhile, if some party out there really believes in a future where the phone is what powers a laptop, they should build what’s basically a laptop shell with everything — screen, keyboard, trackpad, battery, and ports — but the SoC. I’d also argue that the connection between the phone and display should be wireless to be truly seamless.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Early Motorola Edge 70 renders show a very familiar design

The Motorola Edge 60 family has only been official for a little over a week now. Yet, the Edge 70 is seemingly already far enough in development to have its design revealed at least. Of course, this is not an official source, but if these early renders are to be believed, the Edge 70 looks

Germany considers smartphone ban in schools – DW – 05/03/2025

A strange ritual takes place every morning at the entrance of the Dalton High School in Alsdorf, near the western city of Aachen. The 700 students must leave their smartphones turned off in their schoolbags and are only allowed online again when school is finished for the day. School spokesperson, 16-year-old Lena Speck, is herself a

Microsoft increases prices for Xbox consoles, accessories, and first-party games

Microsoft has announced that effective immediately the prices for all of its Xbox products are going up. This includes consoles, controllers, accessories, and even first-party Xbox titles. The consoles are getting by far the heftiest price hikes, with the Series X getting a substantial $100 bump to the standard models and an eye-watering $130 for

CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: The Best Budget Smartphone

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a triple-camera system, and the third camera isn’t some silly 2-megapixel macro sensor like on most cheap phones. You’re getting a proper, versatile camera array usually found on pricier devices, with a 50-MP main camera, a 50-MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom, and an 8-MP ultrawide. There’s a

Samsung Galaxy A56 vs. Galaxy S24 FE

The hugely popular Samsung Galaxy A series got its annual overhaul recently. The headlining A56 didn’t bring a whole lot of improvements over the previous generation, the most obvious being a chipset upgrade. Other than the A55 and the A36, the A56 needs to face another in-house competitor – the S24 FE could turn out

6 ways students can save on phone plans across all major carriers

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile offer a huge variety of discounts for everyone, which students can take advantage of to score massive savings. While the Byzantine world of mobile phone contracts can tempt you to buy the simplest phone contract to save time, a little digging can save you potentially hundreds of dollars when buying a

Android adds support for digital credentials

Google has announced that Android is getting support for digital credential presentation and issuance. This is being done with native support for OpenID4VP and OpenID4VCI standards, which are being integrated within Android’s Credential Manager. With the addition of this feature, users will be able to save digital credentials on their device within any app that

Hawaii Department of Education seeks input on cell phone use in classrooms | Local

As parents and lawmakers worry about the impact of smartphones and social media on young users, many teens acknowledge that they spend “too much” time on their devices. Xavier Lorenzo/Moment RF/Getty Images via CNN Newsource HAWAII (Island News) — The Hawaii State Department of Education is looking to students, staff and family members for input

Realme C75 5G launches with Dimensity 6300 SoC, low price

Realme launched the 4G-only C75 in December, and today this has received a 5G-capable sibling as well. The Realme C75 5G is now official in India, where it starts at INR 12,999 (approximately $153 or €135 at the current exchange rates) and is available through the brand’s official online store. For that amount of cash,

TikTok gets a hefty fine in the EU for transferring user data to China

TikTok has just been handed a hefty €530 million ($600 million) fine in Ireland by the country’s Data Protection Commission (DPC). The reason has to do with transfers of personal data of TikTok users in the European Economic Area (EEA) to China. The decision finds that TikTok infringed upon the EU’s GDPR regulations regarding transferring

Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7?

If you’re in the market for a new foldable phone, then it’s likely you’ve been eyeing the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. This foldable flagship is expected to land in July, and it could well be one of the best foldable phones of the year. So, with likely under three months to go, should

GTA VI gets a new release date, and it’s not this year

If you’ve been anxiously waiting for the next installment in the hit Grand Theft Auto series, here’s some very bad news for you. GTA maker Rockstar Games has just announced the new official release date of GTA VI, and it’s not in 2025 as initially promised. It is now set to come out on May

OnePlus Nord 5 specs leak, chipset impresses

OnePlus launched the Nord 4 last summer, and so we’re definitely getting close to the release of its successor, which we’ll tentatively name Nord 5. A new leak from a tipster over on X claims to give us its main specs, so let’s take a look. The Nord 5 is said to come with a

International iQOO Neo10 runs Geekbench with a different chipset

iQOO launched the Neo10 in China in November, and now it seems almost ready to make it to international markets, but there’s a twist. The international Neo10 will have a different chipset compared to its Chinese counterpart, as revealed by a Geekbench run of the global model. This one has the model number I2405 (which

Apple beats analyst forecasts for the quarter, posts highest-ever Services revenue

“Today Apple is reporting strong quarterly results, including double-digit growth in Services,” said CEO Tim Cook, as the company beat analysts’ expectations for the three months ending in March. The company raked in $95.4 billion in revenue (beating the $94.6 billion estimate), which is a 5% increase year-on-year. The earnings per share for the company

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x