News + Trends
XCover7 Pro and Tab Active5 Pro: Samsung's new rugged smartphone and tablet
by Jan Johannsen
Like Samsung Dex: Google tests desktop mode for Android smartphones
5.5.2025
Translation: machine translated
Google is working on a desktop mode for Android smartphones. They can then be operated on a screen like a PC with a mouse and keyboard.
Some smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung or Motorola has been offering a desktop mode for Android for years. However, Google is now working on making this available independently of the manufacturer. To do this, developers are drawing on functions from Android tablets, among other things.
Smartphone instead of PC
Android smartphones can already be connected to an external monitor. Even a mouse and keyboard can be paired and used via Bluetooth. However, apart from the solutions from Samsung or Motorola, this has not yet been really convincing. Mishaal Rahman from «Android Authority» discovered that Google wants to change this.
Back in March, he discovered the option «desktop experience features» in the settings of the beta version of Android 16. He has since got it working and demonstrates the new desktop mode in a video:
The desktop mode for Android includes a taskbar and displays notifications and quick settings. Several apps can also be used simultaneously. The user can change the window sizes and arrange them next to each other or on top of each other. Drag-and-drop also works, making it easy to copy content from one app to another.
Many of the multitasking functions appear to have been adopted from Android tablets. But even there, they are currently only available directly on the devices and not as a desktop mode on external screens.
Many questions still unanswered
Google has not yet introduced the desktop mode, so there are still some unanswered questions. For example, it is unclear what hardware requirements a smartphone must have for the mode to run smoothly. My guess here is at least a mid-range device.
It is also unclear when the desktop mode will be ready. Although it is already in a beta version of Android 16, it has to be activated separately. This circumstance and the overall appearance of the function lead Rahman to assume that desktop mode will not be ready for the launch of Android 16. Google has brought it forward to the second quarter of this year and will announce further details about its new operating system on 13 May 2025.
Instead, Google could release desktop mode with one of Android's quarterly updates later this year. If that doesn't happen, the function could become a major feature of Android 17 in a year's time.
On the other hand, new options for using external displays will probably already be part of Android 16
Header image: Android Authority
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
Smartphone
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
3 comments
later