The desktop mode is quite an interesting innovation in many flagship devices from manufacturers. Until recently, only Samsung and Huawei could offer such a solution on their smartphones, but now LG also connected to them. Probably, this mode is becoming more and more popular, and there is a demand from consumers for its presence in smartphones. Let's take a look at what kind of mode it is, how it is useful, and experienced users should ask whether they use this function or not.
Are you using smartphone desktop mode?
What is desktop mode?
Desktop mode is a mode that allows you to use your smartphone as a full-fledged PC. By activating it, the shell of the smartphone adapts the desktop to the use of large displays. In simple words, Android outwardly turns into Chrome OS / Windows / Mac OS.
Why do you need desktop mode?
It is useful if you need to use a smartphone to work with the Internet, documents. In simple words, if you need to get the most comfort while engaging in your professional activities. The desktop mode is able to replace a full-fledged laptop if you do not work with specialized Windows – programs such as Photoshop or Autocad.
When did desktop mode appear on smartphones?
This feature was first introduced not with the release of the Galaxy S8, but much earlier – along with the release of Motorola Atrix. The company then released a special laptop with a docking station to the device, to which a smartphone could be connected. At the same time, the laptop itself did not have any filling and offered only a keyboard and a monitor. The whole thing looked like this:
Desktop mode Motorola Atrix
Surprisingly, even then, given the extremely low performance of mobile chipsets, Motorola managed to create a good solution. You can see how this mode worked in the video below:
Note that the smartphone was presented back in 2011. And only 6 years later, the function appeared on the Samsung flagship with the release of the Galaxy S8 and was called DeX. The company has released a dedicated DeX docking station. It could be connected to a monitor via an HDMI cable, meanwhile it made it possible for the smartphone to charge, since it was equipped with a Type-C port for charging the phone. To prevent the device from overheating with active use of this mode and simultaneous charging, a small cooler was built into the docking station, which is practically inaudible even at maximum speed. The station offered two USB ports for connecting a keyboard, mouse, hard drive or flash drive – the Koreans did not particularly restrict users.
Galaxy S8 DeX Mode
With the release of the Galaxy S9, Samsung introduced an updated docking station that became noticeably more compact and with it the smartphone could be used as a trackpad.
Galaxy S9 DeX Mode
When the Galaxy S10 arrived, Samsung took it a step further and ditched the docking station entirely, introducing only a cable to connect the phone via HDMI to the monitor. This solution allowed for more flexible use of a smartphone with monitors. For example, like this:
DeX is one of the main marketing features of the Note line.
What about Huawei? After the release of DeX in 2017, the Chinese introduced EMUI Desktop Mode. He did not require any docking stations and immediately connected the phone to the monitor via a Type-C to HDMI cable. Before that, Samsung hit upon the idea only two years later in 2019 with the release of the Galaxy S10.
There are many comparisons between DeX and EMUI on the web:
Like the Galaxy S10, smartphones Huawei with desktop mode support can act as a trackpad, and this is very convenient considering that there are simply no high-quality trackpads on the market, except for the solution from Apple, which also costs 12 thousand rubles.
Now let's take a look at what LG offers us. In a recent update of its own devices, it offered users a desktop mode built into Android 10, but this is still an experimental feature and is not available to regular users Android, but is available to phone owners LG.
It is worth noting that the implementation turned out to be quite good, and one of the authors Android Police, referring to its own sources, said that the company plans to release a folding LG V70 in 2021, which is open will receive a display with a diagonal of more than 10 inches. In this case, using this mode will be a good way to offer a real laptop with the dimensions of a smartphone.
I wonder what do you think about the desktop mode of the smartphone? Do you use it? Take part in our survey and join our Telegram chat.