What ever happened to google merging chrome and android that was talked about like 10 years ago?
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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Probably been in the Google idea/product graveyard for the last 9 years
They were just waiting for Microsoft to add advertisements to Windows so they can do the same. Now it can be a new revenue channel and will see the light of day.
If Android lands this in a good way, I may finally switch off of iPhone. I do not need a laptop and a phone if I can just dock my phone and get my work done.
I do have a desktop at home, but I do occasionally enough need to travel and bring a laptop. It feels kind of like a waste, but a portable monitor, keyboard, and mouse would be great if I could just dock my phone and do my meetings.
Since I host meetings, tablets don’t offer enough functionality.
Carrying three separate devices (portable screen, keyboard, mouse) seems more hassle than carrying a single device (a laptop). Though it could be useful if I already have a screen, a keyboard and a mouse where I'm going.
One can have a laptop-form dock station. Or something like.
With DEX you can use your phone as a touchpad.
ITT: "My [insert model] has had it since 1865, SNORE!"
My Motorola Edge+ 2023 has desktop mode when connected to an external display.
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.
Motorola have been doing desktop modes since the Atrix 4g. Samsung have had it for a long time as well (s8 or s9?). Its kinda crazy how slow google is at getting this out for stock android.
I still have one. The problem was 1. It was not powerful enough and 2. It required dedicated hardware.
With new phones coning with the option of 16GB ran and up, and being able to connect to any monitor over display port alt mode, the time is ripe.
It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish with this mode. If your goal is to do basic documents, web browsing, media consumption, or email/chat/etc, then the Motorola latest phones are more than capable. I'm pairing my phone with a portable display and a foldable keyboard/track pad combo (Bluetooth). It is perfectly capable of day to day light computing. I've even done some very light python programming using PyDroid.
Yeah I figured as much. If this ever happens I'll have to finally upgrade from my Pixel 7.
Having used dex on a Samsung s10, I think 1 still applies to some extent. But maybe new phones are better?
Single universal cable is pretty good though, definitely required.
Believe it or not, phones have gotten a lot more powerful over the last 6 years.
Lol of course, but I have also briefly tried it on an s22 ultra, and it still wasn't a great experience. Still not a new-new phone, but it still had similar stuttering/lagginess issues that just killed the experience for me.
But it probably depends on what each individual can tolerate.
RAM is going to be a big deal. That's why Sammy has been selling phones with tons of RAM for a while. Maybe the one you tried was not adequately equipped?
I really wish their whole lap-dock concept had succeeded. Or at least ran a few more generations, so I could get an upgraded model with USBc
There are modern labdocks with usbc
Wow, there actually are! Thanks. I hadn't looked In a long time
Dont take this as an endorsement, I have 2 semi broken ones, but nexdock/uperfect make lapdocks. The touchpads are pretty awful though.
My Huawei P10 Pro that i got in 2017 had a desktop mode. That was 8 years ago!
PureOS on Librem5 already does a "desktop mode".... snore.
Do you have one? How well does it work? I'm interested in getting a Linux phone, but am worried it will be a waste of money.
I own a OnePlus 6 with postmarketOS. My daily driver is a Pixel 7 with CalyxOS and microg turned off.
Despite having effectively only FOSS apps on my Android daily driver, I can't daily drive postmarketOS. It's making great progress, but isn't nearly stable enough as a modern smartphone, and several other issues hold it back;
- Sleep states. Currently you get to choose between your phone going to sleep (~ a day battery life) but without notifications, incoming calls, alarms, etc. Or your phone "staying awake", where you'll have those features but only ~4 hours battery.
- Hardware video decoding, which "can work" but only in select apps, and they're not great for mobile.
- Audio issues, such as no audio from the earpiece, microphone not working, or no audio at all.
If you rely on non-foss Android apps, there is Waydroid, but it's not a perfect solution and might have issues.
It's not a "waste of money" if you want a device to experiment or tinker with, or if you want to follow progress of Linux mobile, but it is extremely unlikely to replace your daily driver.
I have done no research, but my guess is it will be a waste of money right now. Any existing linux phones are too new for everything to be figured out. Pricing is likely very high for what you get right now too, since they don't have the scale yet (and probs other things).
I believe they are mostly an enthusiast type deal at the minute.
With some more time I believe they will become very appealing.
Getting a flagship android is already a waste of money. They lose support in a few years and expect you to buy another