this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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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!