iOS19 Desktop Mode Opinions

[Ctrlos]

As we saw earlier this month, Apple may finally be putting a Continuum/DeX-style desktop-out mode into iOS19 for all USB-C displayport models (sorry, 16e owners) and this got me thinking how this could be the defining new feature of iOS but I wondered what others thought.

For those that don't know the basic idea is that your iPhone becomes a PC or sorts, running a Stage Manager-esque desktop on an external display when plugged in to the appropriate cable or adaptor. Add a keyboard and mouse and you have a working computer. Apps would run in their own windows in a similar way to how the iPad displays iPhone apps in Stage Manager now.

The seeds are actually all over the ecosystem for this ability to be as seamless as possible. The iPhone can theoretically already run iPad binaries as the two share the same chipsets. All Apple would have to do is build the Stage Manager interface into iOS and then let the iPhone run the iPad version of apps when a display is detected, no extra work required from devs. The iPhone would have to store 2 seperate app binaries though.

CarPlay is already quite close to the way this works too, with the iPhone doing the thinking for an external display. Maybe they'll brand it 'WorkPlay'?

Perhaps I'm a bit too imaginitive but they could also enable a seamless Airplay interface where you sit at a compatible display, click an Apple Watch option and your entire desktop just appears on the screen, with peripherals automatically pairing. Move to another desk and the whole setup moves with you without taking your phone out of your pocket.

 

[chabig]

I will withhold judgement until after they show it at WWDC.

 

[xxFoxtail]

I have a feeling it's going to be very basic. Like the iPad's Stage Manager, but simpler.

I can’t really describe what I’m thinking of, maybe a version of what it currently does with mirroring, but fills in the black bars on the sides with your wallpaper or something. I just think they’re going to gimp it somehow.

I’d personally love regular iPadOS Stage Manager to come to the iPhone, but that would mean I wouldn't need my iPad or Mac anymore. I'd carry around an Nexdock for when I need my iPhone to be a laptop or I'd just dock it at my desk. Apple doesn’t want that, they want me to own more than one device.

I hope I’m wrong. Hoping to see something about it at WWDC.

Edit: If anyone wants to try a desktop experience with their iPhone (USB-C and Lightning), I recommend InfiniteX2P. It's basically a desktop interface for web apps. Some of Apple's web apps work with it. iCloud.com is limited though.

 

[HouseLannister]

I will withhold judgement until after they show it at WWDC.

What’s the over/under on Gurman saying it has been delayed or scrapped within the next four weeks?

 

[baconcat_8964]

I used Windows 10 Mobile Continuum on my Lumia 950 XL for several months in 2019, paired with an HP Elite Lap Dock accessory. I put one of my writing works on the phone, to try if this idea works. Despite limited application support on Windows 10 Mobile, Word and Microsoft Edge performed quite well. My research, writing and editing all done on this setup prefectly. However, one of the downsides was that desktop mode drained the battery extremely quickly. The combined battery life of both the phone and Lap Dock lasted under 6 hours, which is comparable to the average battery life of an iPad.

It would be interesting to see how Apple might handle this if they were to introduce a similar feature for all iPhones in iOS 19.

 

[xxFoxtail]

Google is finally building its own DeX: First look at Android's Desktop Mode

Here's an early look at Android's Desktop Mode, Google's version of Samsung DeX! This brings a PC-like interface to Pixel and stock Android.

www.androidauthority.com

Looks like Google is working on this for Android. Maybe this is the next advancement for smartphones.

 

[HouseLannister]

Google is finally building its own DeX: First look at Android's Desktop Mode

Here's an early look at Android's Desktop Mode, Google's version of Samsung DeX! This brings a PC-like interface to Pixel and stock Android.

www.androidauthority.com

Looks like Google is working on this for Android. Maybe this is the next advancement for smartphones.

Motorola had Lapdock back in 2011. Samsung has had DeX since 2017. If this is the new trend in smartphones, it is the slowest moving trend ever.

 

[cjsuk]

Well it's still iOS. Unless there are some major architectural changes it'll be mostly useless as a desktop still.

I mean for example I'm in the middle of authoring something fairly long in LaTeX at the moment. This is impossible to do on iOS despite their being a couple of apps out there that proclaim to do it. Simply because of how iOS is implemented (tasking, window management, file system etc).

 

[SoYoung]

The ability to use our phones as a desktop computer when docked is the logical evolution of smartphones and its the way the industry should concentrate from now on. It would be much better for envorimental purpose and our devices is now powerful enough for the basic, everyday computing stuff needs. Gaming industry is also moving this way with the growing popularity of portable devices like the steam deck so it’s natural the average people begin to realize their smartphone should be able to do all their computing needs.

But yeah, companies like Apple will try to delay the inevitable as far as they can because they still wants to convince the average people they still need a whole new computer for some light gaming, web browsing and work stuff when their phone could do the same with a simple update with the correct OS.

 

[ronrather]

Does an iPhone with USB-C (with display port) have the ability to charge at the same time as connect to monitor? With the same cable obviously. Maybe this necessitates a new Studio Display?

 

[Atomic1977]

I don’t know why anyone would want this even if they did some how manage to do this. I am not sure what iOS 19 all has in store but I can imagine a lot of iPhones currently out there probably will not make the cut.

 

[Tagbert]

I don’t know why anyone would want this even if they did some how manage to do this. I am not sure what iOS 19 all has in store but I can imagine a lot of iPhones currently out there probably will not make the cut.

Any of them with 8GB of RAM would be candidates for this kind of multi-tasking. Of course most people are going to just stick to Instagram and TikTok but some people will want to use this for more expansive uses.

 

[Ctrlos]

Does an iPhone with USB-C (with display port) have the ability to charge at the same time as connect to monitor? With the same cable obviously. Maybe this necessitates a new Studio Display?

A museum I visit for for work has USB-C cables in their offices that simultaneously charge and act as a video cable. To do so at home you’d need a dongle to act as a bridge. Most USB-C ones have pass through charging.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Does an iPhone with USB-C (with display port) have the ability to charge at the same time as connect to monitor? With the same cable obviously. Maybe this necessitates a new Studio Display?

I can only imagine this will work as it does on most USB-C docks, you plug it in and it charges while it connects to your monitor and other peripherals you have connected (keyboard, mouse, external HD etc.)

Id say that this desktop feature, if "packaged" in the right way, can be a killer feature. Its not a "new" thing, it has been done in the past but it hasn't really gained any momentum. Apple has all the things needed in-house and just need to figure out a good way how to launch it.

This along with AI is more than enough of a feature for iOS 19.