Android 16 is finally there, but unfortunately, some of the best features are always on the horizon. An upcoming tool on which I kept a particularly close eye is the office mode of Android 16, currently available in the BETA 2 QPR1. It’s been a while since I gave a configuration of Samsung equivalent Dex, so I am very eager to see what is different, what is the new one, and how far things have happened.
Eager to try it, I caught my 9 pro XL pixel, I installed the latest beta version and decided to try to work on my phone for a few hours (including writing this article) to see how it goes.
Will you use Android’s desktop mode when it was launched?
31 votes
If you are tempted to plunge your toes, you will first need a few things: QPR1 BETA 2 installed on a pixel with DisplayPort capabilities, the developer mode activated with the “Activate desktop experience” features “verified and a USB-C-connected cable to a DisplayPort compatible screen. That’s it for the basics, so dive.
Gogo devices
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
If you plan to use a phone as PC, the peripherals better work very easily. Fortunately, I had no trouble associating my keyboard and my wireless mouse with Pixel 9 Pro XL via Bluetooth. As you can imagine, a few quick taps were everything you needed – if anything, the most delicate part was to remember how to twin my keyboard with a second device.
For the rest of my configuration, I used the same quay / USB-C hub which is generally associated with my laptop; It connects everything on a single cable, including my HDMI monitor, the USB audio interface connected to the speakers, 1 Ethernet GBPS, various USB-A / C ports and a microSD card reader for photo work.
The good news? The pixel instantly connected to my screen, looked clear on my 1080p panel and does not need modifications for the dimensioning of icons (although this option exists). It has also automatically transported the audio via the USB interface, which means that I could use my regular speakers without additional configuration. Hallelujah – It actually looks like the real matter. Just connect and play.
I feared that Android’s desktop mode fails during this first peripheral obstacle, but it closes it.
He even recognized a microSD card and an external hard drive without problem, opening the door to a massively widened storage for work and play. Android file management is not perfect, but I was able to move photos on and out of the card of my camera with a little effort. I expected that the office mode stumbles here, but it absolutely nailed it.
Even better, the USB hub goes from power to keep the pixel loaded during its use. This is essential because the use of the processor is up when performing several applications side by side. I saw the eight processor hearts being used at least partially, almost all the time. Speaking of, how do performance hold?
How is performance?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Google’s Tensor G4 inside the Pixel 9 series may not be the fastest chip, but it is more than capable of managing just about everything I start on a daily basis. It turns out that he also has enough juices to do serious work in a PC type configuration.
Messaging, navigate several tabs, edit Google Docs – All no problem. I loaded heavy goods vehicles to try to break it, but not dice. Lightroom has also worked smoothly, the management of photo changes as it does on the phone. The game is not a problem either; The performances feel from what you will experience in phone mode.
The performance is surprisingly robust, even with several open applications.
However, the most impressive part? The applications are not content to run in windows the size of a phone – they often open in their tablet or foldable layout, which naturally integrate into an office configuration. Chrome, cards, calendar and even some non -Google applications seemed and felt at home in a PC environment. I instantly opened a full landscape version of Lightroom (no additional download required), giving me enough space to review my modifications. Obviously, Google’s push for supporting multi-formular factor applications is starting to bear fruit. However, older applications that have not been optimized can always behave badly, so your mileage can vary.
That said, they remain the mobile applications first. Chrome does not magically offer extension support such as the desktop version, which remains a severe limitation if you want to use this configuration as a major productivity tool. Fortunately, it seems to change soon.
To push things further, I opened several Chrome tabs, broadcast a 4K video, launched a few light applications and even pulled a round of mobile advertising. The pixel has certainly warmed, but no lulling or slowdown in the system to speak. Telephones have been solid multitasking for some time now – it simply proves that they are ready to go aside with light laptops.
What is particularly smooth is that applications continue to work on your phone once you unplug from the office. The chrome tabs, documents and even games remain open and ready to take over where you stopped. That said, I hit a few bugs: the applications do not always return properly to the external display if I pull them towards the phone, the game resolutions are set up if I pull them towards and from the phone, and the interface has drunk several times when I try to use several desktop computers.
It’s good, but there is a reason why it’s still in beta version
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Overall, I am really impressed by the office mode of Android 16. It is remarkably polite for a beta version, but it is not quite ready for prime times. The connection to an external display has sometimes failed, I ran into IUD reduction bugs during the office change, and some older applications have diverted the whole screen without any way to get them out.
Some expected PC amenities are also missing. There is no mouse sensitivity control (which has scrolled from certain applications a chore), no task manager dedicated to killing ill -behavioral applications, and the resizing of the windows makes the content completely disappear. In addition, some Android features are not yet supported – you cannot interact with notifications or switch Wi -Fi / Bluetooth without looking for your phone.
The office mode is not yet fully cooked – but it is very, very close.
Of course, Desktop mode is not the only way to interact with your phone via a PC. Windows now has a dedicated telephone link panel, and brands like Honor will even allow you to open applications on compatible laptops. But these are quite limited: they mainly manage messaging, access to photos and notification transfer. It will be enough for most people who only need to synchronize the essentials, but the desktop mode goes much further, offering a real laptop type experience that you can pocket.
Despite my positive experience, I have reservations throughout the concept. Not everyone will have a USB-C platform at hand, so the connection of essential and similar devices will not always be as easy. You will also want a mouse and keyboard configuration that supports the exchange of rapid connection, which I have, but I am very aware that not everyone will have at hand.
In any case, the office mode of Android 16 is already very capable, even if it is not perfect. I just hope that we will not wait for Android 17 to see him start completely. In any case, Android is getting closer to becoming a real office class operating system, and it’s very exciting.
