Things are looking promising thus far.
Thanks to Android 16, the day I’ve been eagerly anticipating has finally come. After years of wishing Google would emulate Samsung’s model, it has indeed done so, bringing a true desktop mode to Pixel phones.
After spending a bit of time with it, I have a few reflections, but before I proceed, I must remind everyone that this is part of Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2. Just keep that in mind if you decide to explore this yourself, as you’re likely to encounter a few bugs during the journey.
Getting started
If you install QPR1 Beta 2 and simply connect your Pixel to an external display, you may either see nothing or just your phone screen mirrored. That’s because Google isn’t quite ready to make desktop mode available to everyone right off the bat. Remember, this is a Developer Preview, not the public build.
Fortunately, enabling desktop mode is quite straightforward; you just need to activate Developer Options, toggle the “Enable desktop experience features,” and then reboot your phone. Now, when you connect your Pixel to an external display, it should present a desktop-like interface.
A solid beginning with potential for enhancement
For the most part, it looks exactly as I anticipated, which is notably similar to Samsung DeX. This isn’t surprising, given that Google sought Samsung’s assistance in the design and implementation.
The Dock aligns with whatever you previously added on your phone, apart from a few exceptions. On the far left is an app drawer; any apps you have open will appear to the right of the Dock, and on the far right are your standard navigation controls. However, you can still utilize some gestures if you have a trackpad connected to your phone or something like the NexDock.
I was somewhat anxious about how seamlessly I could move different app windows around. Thankfully, it’s been as smooth as I could have hoped, which was truly a relief, as I had some concerns about potential lag.
It’s not flawless, but Google has gotten many aspects right with desktop mode to the extent that I’m already comfortable using it routinely.
There are several additional features included in desktop mode that I wasn’t expecting, such as the ability to snap app windows to the left or right side simply by dragging the window to either side. There’s even a preview menu that appears when I hover my cursor over the “window control” button in the top right corner. You’re limited to just two choices (full-screen or split-screen), but it’s still useful to have.
At the same time, there’s definitely room for enhancement. Some of the more annoying issues are likely just minor nitpicks and can/will be resolved with future updates.
One of the more bothersome aspects is the toolbar that pops up whenever your cursor is in a text field, positioned above the Dock, which you can’t remove. There’s no option to hide it, and it overlays any other window, which drives me crazy.
The only way I’ve found to lessen the annoyance is by converting it into a vertical bar, moving it to the left side of the screen. On the positive side, you can reposition it left or right, or up or down, depending on the orientation.
Another point of irritation is how everything is managed when I detach and reattach my phone. For example, as I type this, I have multiple different app windows open on the NexDock.
However, when I disconnect my phone, attend to something else, and then reconnect, all the app windows disappear. There’s no “memory” of what I was doing, what windows were open, or how they were arranged.
I’m uncertain if this is something Google will genuinely implement, but perhaps we could see something like the “Welcome Recap” available on Chromebooks. This feature gives an overview of the apps that were open the last time the device was put to sleep. While I believe we are still a bit away from new features being added, I would at least like for my apps to reopen when I connect to an external display.
Finally, and again, this is more a matter of nuance than anything else, but I believe it would be quite cool if I could have a dual-screen setup with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and an external screen. In essence, I wish I could establish an “extended screen” scenario similar to Motorola’s Smart Connect, even if I wouldn’t be able to drag apps back and forth between the two.
I’m genuinely enthusiastic about desktop mode.
The recurring sentiment I’ve had during my brief experience with desktop mode on Android 16 is that it resembles a Chromebook significantly. I’m not quite sure if there was any way for Google to avoid
