this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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And my Samsung has had it for longer than that. But this one is made by Google.
Can DeX be used with just an external monitor without a PC?
Yes; using a USB dock with HDMI out you can use a Samsung phone as basically a desktop PC. For some reason. Having tried it, the experience isn't great, none of the apps are really designed for it so I guess if you want to type an email on your phone, knock yoruself out.
I used it a few times for work even. At the time I had a usb-c hub connected with a screen, Ethernet, 65w charger, a keyboard and mouse and I had my laptop that I was carrying with me.
Once or twice I arrived at work and realized I forgot my computer at home ... And I have a 2hour drive ... So I connected my phone to the hub and work on it. It worked well to send email, use an internet browser, a bit of document editing and mostly connecting to remote desktops.
Darn! Well, at least the option is available for computer-less smartphone owners, I guess.
It seems to be built with the idea that you're going to carry around a phone, and then have keyboards, monitors, mice (though you can use the phone's touch screen as a trackpad) etc. set up at work stations to do more serious tasks, but the app ecosystem for Android just isn't there. About the only thing that works half decent is Google Docs.
I use Samsung Dex and I was disappointed by how limited the android version of Google Sheets was. Like it's cool that I can edit stuff on my tablet, but it locks you out of a lot of functionality. This desktop mode could be really cool but it needs to be supported by apps.