Samsung has long offered the possibility for your phone (or tablet) to supply an office operating system experience when connected to an external screen. Google is now working on a Dex type desktop experience for Android.
With Android 14 QPR3, Google introduced DisplayPort mirror for the Pixel 8 and later. You can reflect the screen of your phone on the supported display or the content of the project, such as Google the slides. In Android 15 QPR1, Google introduced an office window for the Pixel tablet in the developer’s overview.
These two experiments now meet with “the office window on secondary screens”. Android authority has now activated 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 applications, as well as access to the launcher and 3 buttons on the right.
At the top, you see the time and other icons of the status bar. If you drag, you get fast -column settings and notifications, just like on today’s tablets and foldable. The applications open under Windows that you can resize, move and place side by side, with keyboard and physical trackpad commands. You can continue to use the phone when desktop windows are active.
We don’t know when it all will be started. The biggest question is how it is in the broader Google approach to office computer science. The work so that Chromeos uses more Android under the cap is underway, while Google clearly adds desktop features to Android which could open the door to appropriate laptops (or convertible) performing an Android desktop version.
If the work on the creation of an Android office experience is already occurring, letting phones Experience a Dex type experience is almost a reflection afterwards, with these mobile devices powerful enough to perform everything. Some people like clearly and want Dex, but the Google strategy seems confusing. People are undoubtedly more familiar with the concept of purchasing a dedicated device (laptop) for their computer computer needs. The introduction of the possibility of using their phone as an office, forces to have an external display and a keyboard / mouse, or an existing laptop where the native operating system is – for any reason – not enough for their needs.
I wonder if Google presents this underlying support in office mode in Android mainly for the advantages of Samsung.
Meanwhile, if a game really believes in a future where the phone is what feeds a laptop, they should build what is essentially a laptop shell with everything – screen, keyboard, trackpad, battery and ports – but the SoC. I would also say that the connection between the phone and the display should be wireless to be really transparent.
FTC: We use automatic income affiliation links. More.
