With the recent updates to iPad OS to Finally support a reasonable windowed mode, I found myself curious about the "Beta" desktop mode on my Pixel 8 pro Android phone. Finally being able to connect to an external monitor and have a reasonable desktop experience has been great, but what about on a device with nearly the same power, and something that we can put in a pocket such as a phone?
The 16 Pro and 17 Pro have processing and graphics power that can rival early M1 (and newer) devices, yet we can only mirror the main screen, and play full screen video at this point. Why not more !?
Outside of Samsung Dex which has had a similar feature for ages, on the android side in version 16, you now have an option to enable desktop mode in developer settings (which I am fine with for now as it is beta). After you do that, connecting to a Monitor will bring up a desktop that you can open windowed applications like you can on a Mac, or PC. It is beta but overall it is a nice approximation of Samsung Dex, or a light desktop operating system that is actually really stable in my testing!
Since Most Android applications are built for foldable phones, most native applications (and most 3rd party) scale up just fine, with some having a better ability to scale up to a "desktop" experience than do many ipad apps in iPad OS 26!
In the image I have 4 applications running
- Watching Foundation on Apple TV+ (Phone screen) and audio is playing through my Audioengine speakers connected to the monitor
- Working in my Microsoft Outlook for work
- Browsing MacRumors
- using Google messages
I have had 4 apps on screen + watching video on the phone and zero issues with stability. Mind you this is on a Pixel 8 Pro, a phone that doesn't even match the horsepower of the iPhone 13 Pro, a phone that came out in 2021, versus the Pixel 8 debut in 2023.
I expect that Apple thinks adding such a feature to phones will poach sales from iPads or Mac computers, but, there are use cases where you simply want a small device while out in the field, and be able to dock, and work from the same device when at home, office, hotel, etc.
Curious if anyone else would like this feature on iOS, or, am I in an extreme minority!!??
The 16 Pro and 17 Pro have processing and graphics power that can rival early M1 (and newer) devices, yet we can only mirror the main screen, and play full screen video at this point. Why not more !?
Outside of Samsung Dex which has had a similar feature for ages, on the android side in version 16, you now have an option to enable desktop mode in developer settings (which I am fine with for now as it is beta). After you do that, connecting to a Monitor will bring up a desktop that you can open windowed applications like you can on a Mac, or PC. It is beta but overall it is a nice approximation of Samsung Dex, or a light desktop operating system that is actually really stable in my testing!
Since Most Android applications are built for foldable phones, most native applications (and most 3rd party) scale up just fine, with some having a better ability to scale up to a "desktop" experience than do many ipad apps in iPad OS 26!
In the image I have 4 applications running
- Watching Foundation on Apple TV+ (Phone screen) and audio is playing through my Audioengine speakers connected to the monitor
- Working in my Microsoft Outlook for work
- Browsing MacRumors
- using Google messages
I have had 4 apps on screen + watching video on the phone and zero issues with stability. Mind you this is on a Pixel 8 Pro, a phone that doesn't even match the horsepower of the iPhone 13 Pro, a phone that came out in 2021, versus the Pixel 8 debut in 2023.
I expect that Apple thinks adding such a feature to phones will poach sales from iPads or Mac computers, but, there are use cases where you simply want a small device while out in the field, and be able to dock, and work from the same device when at home, office, hotel, etc.
Curious if anyone else would like this feature on iOS, or, am I in an extreme minority!!??