Desktop Mode on a PIXEL!!! Android 15 Developer Preview 2 and Video Output on the Pixel 8 Pro!

[@ChrisPollard]

Honestly, DeX is by far one of the most underrated things that Samsung has going for it. They really did a good job keeping it going, even when it isn't widely used and MOST Galaxy S-series owners have absolutely no idea that it even exists. The state of base Android desktop mode is pretty sad, but still worlds, galaxies (ha!), and a whole universe better than anything Apple has to offer from the iPhone.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

There are SO MANY people I know rocking super expensive phones, and that phone could EASILY replace all their current computing needs. It really is a shame this hasn't caught on more.

[@ChrisPollard]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I think it's a simple matter of not knowing. Yeah, us tech heads know about it, and how useful it can be ... but your average human has no idea what DeX is or that their phone might be able to become a desktop. I mean, if Apple did it, they'd rant about how advanced and amazing and magical it is ... and maybe that's what's needed to light a fire under Google's butt. The slow rise of foldables is surely helping though, since that's where it can also become quite useful.

[@hotrodhunk7389]

True. Definitely a great second life for your flagship phone after you get a new one.

[@michaeldavidlarsen7488]

I want a desktop feature yesterday!! Come on google. We need it!

[@neverletthemtameyou]

I love that you keep making these. Fight the good fight. I also want a full desktop from my phone.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

There are dozens of us! DOZENS OF US!

[@neverletthemtameyou]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Lol. More needed!

[@LaczPro]

Finally Google. Finally. Please don't kill it like you always do

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's been broken for so long, I thought they'd given up on it.

[@TaureanSmoke]

Use the product and then they won't kill it. The only products Google has ever killed were products that no one used! Unlike most people on the internet, you don't seem to be one of the people that never use one of their products and then complains on the internet that the product were deleted. But the same still applies! Prime examples. Google play music, Google Hangouts, Stadia! All of these things were nice products but people just didn't use them. None of these products moved the needle for Google so yes, they get deleted as they should. No sense in wasting resources on something no one is using, even though they're probably three of the best apps that were ever in existence!

[@TaureanSmoke]

​@@SomeGadgetGuyI agree, but in true Google fashion they tend to surprise. Usually a late surprise!

[@onpointsg35]

They will, I'm still mad they killed G plus

[@TaureanSmoke]

​@@onpointsg35 I agree. Google Plus was really nice. And it was a really good change of pace from the ignorance of Facebook. But at the same time they wanted Google Plus to be as popular as Facebook. But Google Plus winded up being only a tool for developers to interact with. Which was its downfall!

[@mathmagics8212]

I hate abandoning a project my heart broke when Samsung done with Linux on Desktop

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Same. Just imagine what we could be doing on new hardware today with Linux...

[@DevinCurrie]

Why did Samsung abandon/discontinue the Linux project?

[@farishanafiah8461]

​@@DevinCurrieApparently, not enough interest from developers.

[@MrDavidrosenberger]

Agree with all your sentiments here. Pixel is the gold standard of Android and smartphone pics. They need to keep that standard for desktop mode. ReadyFor is the gold standard of desktop mode.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's sad folks still don't know about Dex/ReadyFor.

[@benjaminfrohns]

​@@SomeGadgetGuy I use it all the time on my Motorola Edge 30 pro. It probably means I'll get the coming Edge 50 pro. Or the ROG gaming phone that has DPalt out, but I don't know how well that works.

[@XP9724]

Love the LG Screen+ mention, coolest phones ever

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

We lost something really special when LG left.

[@4techdell389]

what was max resolution for screen+ can inform?

[@zdanee]

After my LG V60 I specifically went for Samsung because of DeX. As you say, I do not use a PC at home, and I do have my work laptop in the bag, but I prefer to hook up my phone to the TV in the living room or to a USB-C display with keyboard&mouse in the bedroom.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

At some point you should give ReadyFor a try too. The only reason Dex (good lock) has improved over the last couple years is because ReadyFor got REALLY good. 👍

[@4techdell389]

​@@SomeGadgetGuyfrend can u inform what is max resolution for each mode, sams.dex, moto ready for, and lg screen+

[@farishanafiah8461]

If Google finally shows their seriousness for Desktop Mode on Android, we can finally see other Android OEM following suit.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I hope so. It would be refreshing to see some Oppo and Xiaomi competition in this space.

[@farishanafiah8461]

​@@SomeGadgetGuyI remembered Xiaomi did develop their own custom Desktop Mode for Mix Fold. It's a huge missed opportunity for Xiaomi not to make it available on their phones.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Ugh. I forgot about that. Yeah.

[@orangeyellow-me1pz]

Why is is Google like this? Not having even video out but a capable USB C port was one of the many things I hated about my Pixel 7a. Sometimes I feel these major corps gimp these products to force us to buy more of their products like what Apple does with iPad OS.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's been irritating for sure. It just goes to show how brutal all the marketing has been that consumers have no idea what their (insanely) expensive phones can do. It's just an appliance for texting and tiktok.

[@12345idiotsluggage]

Google doesn't want to piss off it's close friend (aka operational partner) in Samsung. Google and Samsung have a good thing going. Google mainly does software with some hardware. Samsung mainly does hardware with some software. Problems might arise if Samsung does more software and Google does more hardware. There's also problems of anticompetitivenes and monopoly, blah blah blah.

[@_YashSawant]

7:00 get a Super Dark Complete Black Picture and set it as a wallpaper or open it from gallery that way your phone's battery wont be drained as Amoled Display can shut off all the pixels to immitate Perfect Black which will save the battery

[@simster2759]

It's one of your video topics I always click on as while I've never really had a use as have a decent laptop I do see myself moving to a phone + main desktop setup with a next doc if it ever got the attention to be fully fledged. Dex looked good I had no idea the base android version was non existent

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's been so disappointing to watch. We saw some progress up to around Android 10, and we had some good competition building with LG, then the whole thing just fell apart.

[@hotrodhunk7389]

Biggest pro I found is having unlimited data. Hotspot usually limits speed and amount of data. But if it's all running through the phone it's unlimited.

[@darrenmorin]

It's better late than never! Goodness, I was able to mirror my Nokia N8 thru the "USB on the go" out back when it was released! They even included an HDMI cable adapter for the thing which I still have.

[@gmosc]

My pixel 7 has finally gotten the ability to run apps in link to Windows, but I haven't tried it yet. Im glad at least to have that. My OnePlus 12 is working well in Link to Windows. I hope that this is a sign that Google is getting serious for both Link to windows and desktop mode.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I get how that can be handy, but i do find it irksome that folks are excited about "using two whole computers to see an android app on a desktop monitor" you know? Like, A LOT of people could just cut out the middleman, and just use the phone on the monitor.

[@gmosc]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I actually have two portable Asus monitors (one with battery and touch). And of course some monitors sitting around. I've experimented with the portable monitors and connecting can be a hassle. The first one needed more juice than the phone (or even my surface pros) could provide. The one with a battery sometimes works. One problem is if you set it to NOT charge from the connected device it often works, but if you put it in the mode to charge while connected (cuz you have a computer or dongle that can do it) you have to remember to go to settings and turn off the charging when you are done with that session. You see, if you grab the monitor and try to connect it to a low power phone or surface pro on the road, you get stuck in a loop where you can't get into setting to turn off the charging unless you go home, connect it to the last system that worked, go to settings to turn off charging. My systems at home that are strong enough to just plug in the portable monitor already have much larger second and third screens already. On the other hand, being able to work on apps and data on the phone keeping it all on the phone but linked to windows (on it's larger screen) can be easy with any working computer.

[@jsark0756]

I have been testing desktop mode and raised issues with Google in Android 15 DP1 so its a little better if you use an additional taskbar app but it is far from the experience of Samsung DeX. So I feel the pain and frustration with Pixels.

[@malcontent_1]

As a non-"creator" I'm quite pleased be able to run my consulting business on a Chromebook Plus. But I'd rather be able to do so on my Pixel phone.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

We've been overdue. Phones are now as powerful as many of these chromebooks.

[@Peterstarzynskitech]

I dont think desktop mode will kill windows. But I like it. Its good for video editing without a PC.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I don't think it'll kill MacOS or WIndows, just as ChromeOS and Linux haven't killed Windows, but there are MANY MANY people out there (I would imagine many folks you know) who genuinely don't need five computers to meet their needs. For a LOT of folks, the compute power of an older mid-range phone is still overkill to meet their needs.

[@Peterstarzynskitech]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Yeah exactly.

[@farishanafiah8461]

I totally get you. I myself still keep my Windows PC despite using Desktop Mode. It becomes super useful when travelling light with just a lapdock or an AR glasses.

[@Peterstarzynskitech]

One downside to desktop mode is phone heat. Maybe I had one experience, but I remember my note 10 getting hot and slow while using DEX.

[@farishanafiah8461]

​@@PeterstarzynskitechI'd say it depends on the SoC. My phone have Snapdragon 855, and it didn't overheat so bad. The only problem I have with my current phone is the rather small 6GB RAM. Snapdragon 888/888+ and 8 Gen 1 would be the ones I avoid, including from Sony.

[@tutacat]

Well, Pixel switched from Mid-tier to Flagship. The processor went back to flagship since they made their own.Since they are working on desktop mode in stock android, likely thought it was good idea to enable the feature on the Pixel kernel. But they removed Miracast since Android 9 on the first pixel.

[@theniceneighbor]

Had no idea that Force desktop mode was in the pixel 8 pro. I still had my components from my Galaxy notes so everything worked great when I enabled it. After a reboot, the "force desktop mode" has been removed from my developer options. I can't find any links suggesting what may have happened to it after a simple reboot but it was definitely there and gone after a reboot. I was able to get it to detect the external display by enabling "freeform windows on secondary display" in the developer options, but force desktop mode or enable secondary display is no longer one of my developer options. It was there 30 minutes ago. I used it. Now it's gone. WTF?

[@0ni0ng0ld-g6i]

Will Android replace ChromeOS eventually? Only thing Android is missing is the linux subsystem

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I've been hoping for the two to merge for years now. I don't think it will any time soon. Not unless we see an uptick in Windows on ARM. THEN Google might care about stapling the two together.

[@farishanafiah8461]

With ChromeOS having Play Store support for years and we do have ARM-powered ChromeOS laptop/tablet, there should be no problem for both Android and ChromeOS to be converged into a Manjaro Phosh-rivalling mobile PC OS. But then again, I doubt Google would want to do that in the first place because it would disrupt the Chromebook sales.

[@Kraszer]

I think development of desktops mode will pick up as windows tables will probably show up in next 2 years and threaten it. The question is will android will make desktop mode comparable to windows first or will windows make good tablet experience first. Windows has huge advantage in programs though for more advance users.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Having used the Robo&Kala, I really don't have as much interest in Android tablets. If we start getting premium windows tablets, that can compete with actual laptops, but offer great battery life, it might force Google's hand a little more.

[@nullc0ntext]

Yaknow, my Droid 4 had a desktop mode through a micro-HDMI out that I LOVED. Everything since has disappointed me. Mostly in losing the output port.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It sucks right? We've turned the phone into this basic appliance. Things like memory card expansion, HDMI, 3.5mm aux. All those ports and replaceable batteries. They made our pocket computers more versatile.

[@nullc0ntext]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I still use a T480 just for the battery bridge system so you know I gotcha there. :D What angers me the most is the fact no one will take a chance on stepping out of the mold that's developed and every manufacturer staying in the lane and not innovating. Some of us would buy simply for those outlier features that have been waysided in the rush to homogonize to compete in the most misguided attempt to make quarterly profits I can think of in tech. If someone offered me a current spec phone that mirrored the Droid 4 form factor with a backlit slider I would be the sole crowdfunder to back the production myself. RIP QWERTY. :_;

[@TV-wg5uu]

high quality insights is delivered to me from this video

[@majestikmoose9]

Yes! Finally!!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I honestly was starting to wonder if we'd EVER see this happen on a Pixel...

[@Pierre-YvesParmentier]

Here in france we also have the Crosscall devices with their X-Space desktop mode which is very nice. Interesting to see how Samsung, Motorola, Crosscall (and others?) will use (or not) some of the native Android desktop mode features. Because the device makers have their own desktop implementation, the issue today is that the applications behaviour in desktop mode is inconsistent or even buggy.

[@snowbiker2450]

Can anyone please let me know what "Laptop Doc" Mr Bagnell is using at the time mark of 3:50 ? Thank you very much.

[@farishanafiah8461]

That's the NexDock. Also, it's not the only lapdock in existence as you also got the UPERFECT's UDock X lineup.

[@nmatheis]

I've hassled OnePlus for years for a desktop mode. Maybe this will finally kick them in the butt enough to do it!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I'm shocked OPPO isn't looking to displace laptops.

[@nmatheis]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I know, right. Would make sense to have 512gb storage plus cloud storage and home/work modes. Just use your phone to hook up to a USB C dock at work & home, keeping the two segregated.

[@GtheJuggler]

If you can add more features to a phone for not much cost that makes it more attractive to power users who won't just buy it because of the pretty ads than do it. Simple as that!

[@Stamatos]

1000% on this. I want to be able to put my phone to a screen and be able to type and do some simple stuff. I don't need to edit videos even though my phones are completely capable of that. There's no reason why a Galaxy flip can't do this. The phones that could do this 5 years ago have to be 15% the power that these things are now. So let's do it Google, I'm keeping this OnePlus open for at least another year or two, I want a desktop mode!

[@dacook1987]

I think this is waaaaayyy overdue. Samsung really is the only leader in this are and it feels like such an untapped feature. I would love one day to have a folding phone when plugged into a display would create a good desktop solution and essentially have two displays available to work off. Dex is good, but has had no competition so why improve.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

The most recent improvements and features added to Dex (through goodlock) all came because ReadyFor leap frogged Dex. If you like having true 4K display support, you owe Moto a thank you.

[@adilshoukat]

This feature is really useful for travelers. You don't have to carry your whole laptop bag. Just hook your phone up with the hotel TV and do your medium level office work (emails, slack, etc.) I used this feature a lot on Huawei phone (before Harmony OS). Huawei even supports it wirelessly. So all you need is your phone and a Bluetooth keyboard with a trackpad build in.

[@BasMeijer]

Looking forward to this in Android 15! One question though: How did you get your laptop screen to be used as display for an external device?

[@RemotelyNews]

Thanks Juan, I'm keeping Samsung and DeX. I switched from Pixel to Samsung because of DeX and I haven't been disappointed in the least. When I travel, I will, often times, bring a bluetooth keyboard, mouse and the necessary adapters along with the phone of course, instead of my phone and an expensive laptop.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's crazy right! We JUST got the headline that Google is going to make ChromeOS more like Android. WHAT WE'VE BEEN SCREAMING FOR FOR YEARS NOW. It's maddening. We could have been doing more of this ALL this time. Short story long, Dex and ReadyFor are awesome. Keep using your phone for more work, and save your wallet.

[@JC-ft4ri]

Does LGv60 have higher resolution on a portable 4k monitor? Or will it only output 1080p? I mainly need to know if apps on screen+ will aupport the 4k resolution so csn fit more pixels on screen. Instead of looking magnified.

[@RyanOwensWorldofTyros]

Curious about the future of desktop mode

[@MarcDunivan]

I had written off the Google Pixel phone. If this stays in for the next Pixel Phone release I will purchase one. Any idea on the maximum screen resolution and FPS? Is this USB-C Alternative display mode DisplayPort and HDMI? Not Thunderbolt? Does this support charging while connected to an external display? Will this also be released for the Pixel Tablet?

[@vladmihai306]

well, tbh, I always wondered why phone makers are not promoting this more... I actively use Samsung Dex and it's fantastic. I use it for normal web browsing and I use it for work via VMware horizon and it just ... works. my s20 5g snapdragon 865 is quite snappy still, has 12gb of ram and frankly it's faster than my Ryzen 4500u laptop without even having a fan or heating up barely. so I can just imagine what an s24 can do, so Samsung better work on dex to improve it, make it more streamlined, more configurable, more desktop like, because frankly it's just awesome. I would love for them to add at least 2 monitors support (even with limit to 1080p on both, but still) and maybe some more configuration in general.

[@farishanafiah8461]

Simple: They don't want to disrupt their Android tablet sales. If they show the phone's capability as a portable PC, people won't buy their tablets.

[@chriskilps]

We have had this since the Droid days. Google needs to make this aosp.

[@farishanafiah8461]

To be fair, experimental Desktop Mode feature has always been baked in under Developers setting since Android 10. Only LG made good use of it for Screen+.

[@JoshuaThomasGray]

I really hope to see Google take a docked desktop seriously and SOON!!! It would be so helpful

[@mr_glass9349]

насколько я помню у Pixel ниже 8-ой серии есть док станции которые все таки могут выводить картинку, так вот что будет если через такой хаб подключиться к монитору?

[@giteshd]

Did he connected the phone to Laptop via usb c ?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Nope. Lapdock. Specifically a NexDock in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/jorVhomDqMiWkK8

[@giteshd]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Thanks a lot man 🙏

[@CedricOwens]

Thank God! We back baby!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Baby steps back up to "almost adequately functional again". Yeesh LOL.

[@sucafrutpi]

the idea of phones being used as desktop replacements is so obvious, but year after year it is never quite there unless you want to buy into DeX/Samsung. I replace phones much more frequently than computers and having to try and depend on an Amdroid desktop mode that is on again, off again from most vendors is just not worth the investment when I can get better functionality from a 7 year old laptop. It is sad and I will keep tuning in, but my heart has moved on.

[@farishanafiah8461]

The potential is still there, especially when you see Manjaro Phosh for PinePhone. That is a real legit mobile PC right there.

[@RedPanda_00806]

Does pixel desktop mode work with pixel display off?

[@doc_verma]

I get only blank white display when forced desktop option and my xreal glass and vivo x100 pro. Any solution?

[@floppa9415]

AFAIK Google Pixel's could output HDMI with a very basic Desktop Mode when enabled in developer settings in older Android Versions. I vividley remember being able to do so on my Pixel 2.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

There have been ways to employ display port out and screen mirror, but nothing like the actual USBC plug-and-play out put that I know of.

[@nikytamayo]

Was so excited that they finally started supporting this again, but it's disappointing compared to DeX and Huawei Desktop. I mean, I've got a full Windows-style bottom ribbon on my Huawei Desktop with all my go-to apps pinned on it, and a Windows-style menu tile and notification panel. Unlike Android tablet environs, I don't need to swipe my mouse to the top of the screen to reach those toggles, I can just keep my mouse on the baseline, as you would on an actual computer.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Yup. There's been SO little movement on this. You might want to give ReadyFor a spin. A lot of the new updates to Dex (goodlock) only happened because ReadyFor got a LOT better.

[@nikytamayo]

@@SomeGadgetGuy interesting! With the last upgrade, felt that Dex leapfrogged Huawei Desktop. Don't have an official Moto presence here, though, will have to hunt one down.

[@Fe1538C]

Can you in curent version disable (lock turn off screen) phone screen. And continue use monitor as main screen as small computer.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I didn't say it, but I did show it.

[@TheTheShizzler]

Any chance you know if this is an Android 15 thing or a Pixel experience running Android 15? I'd love to get this functionality back on my Open after losing it on my OnePlus 7 Pro

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I dont think so? I think it's what Android 15 will have, and there isn't anything here I think is specifically tied to the Pixel, but we'll have to see once OP puts out a beta.

[@tutacat]

Unfortunately some ROMs completely break stock features by customising them for their own purposes. I'm surprised Firefox is working on stock floating windows, since that has been borked for a while now, didn't really change since floating windows was first added on Android 9/10. It was a very beta developer feature "experiment" and hasn't changed much.

[@bobmarly3127]

I have a question what adapter did you uaw

[@matthewthompson7686]

im on the android 15 beta 2 but when i plug my phone into my ugreen usb hub and plug the hdmi in nothing pops up for mirror screen , am i doing something wrong?

[@confusinggameplays1687]

Your phone might not support USB 3.0 or MHL, check it on Google.

[@mission3479]

Im guessing desktop mode has been kept broken because Google has a conflict of interest with ChromeOS which essentially serves the same purpose. Perhaps ChromeOS made sense at the time since it's based on "real" Linux and was better than android as a desktop and maybe it still is, but Samsung Dex has proven Android to be a very capable desktop OS. I think Google should just depreciate ChromeOS and focus their efforts on just Android, why have two different products lines that do the same thing for no benefit?

[@farishanafiah8461]

Couldn't have been more true. The irony is that Android itself also uses Linux kernel, so why don't just converge both Android and ChromeOS into a single properly legit mobile desktop OS? Any PinePhone owner can totally relate to it.

[@tomatomarkett]

im on pixel 6 beta 3 android 15 , and hdml hub to monitor. I already changed in dev mod to screen transmitting. But nothing happened , absolutely empty

[@crazyacez9397]

It needs usb c 3.0 to function

[@tomatomarkett]

@@crazyacez9397 it actually 3.1 usb on the go

[@crazyacez9397]

@@tomatomarkett i seen the headlines only mention pixel 8, 8 pro having the features. I got rid of my pixel for a think phone last year.

[@Arrozconchopsticks]

Ready For is one of the things i like about my Edge Plus 2023, overall more powerful phone than my old Pixel 7 Pro. If Pixels could run Chrome OS on a tv that would be pretty nice. Pixels should've had Video Out a long time ago.

[@hermanwooster8944]

Now that Google announced ChromeOS is using the Android stack, rumors are spreading that porting the OS to the phone is what they intend to do.

[@myroslav6873]

Is this supposed to work on Pixel 7 Pro? I updates to Android 15 today, enabled those options in developer mode, but when I connect my displays nothing happens.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Pixel 7 doesn't include hardware support for external display output.

[@joaobarreira5221]

Hi, You already have video out with the new Android 14 beta.

[@Kat1307_Real]

LumaFusion run well on Pixel 8 Pro? Pixel 6a can run but not for long 😞

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It seems to run better, but I dont think I would lean on Tensor if I wanted to do a lot of CPU heavy work.

[@localblackman427]

I think it is a bit too little too late imo. Especially since they should have shippwd this at launch with the hardware

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

The best time for Google to have offered these features was back in 2016. The second best time I guess is today...

[@tutacat]

Companies show there is demand, so as it gets (slightly) more popular, maybe they will actually advertise it.

[@gumundurgumundsson8181]

If I will push android 15 on my pixel 7 pro, will it work? (because you talked about pixel 8 pro)

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Unfortunately no. Seems to be a hardware limitation not software on older pixels.

[@IrfanShaikh-ld3mf]

Oneplus needs to work on its desktop mode similar to Samsung and Motorola. They have the proper computing power with the 11 and 12 series. The software on the Open is excellent. Now all is left is to work on the desktop mode.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Oppo/OnePlus is kind of the perfect brand to do it. They don't sell any laptops to worry about eating into other sales numbers. They could CRUSH with a little polish on this feature.

[@IrfanShaikh-ld3mf]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Exactly. All the Chinese OEMs including Vivo can push this since they are all getting into tablet development too and this feature can be really useful. It would be a killer feature if Google works on this and does not discard it in future. If Samsung can do it, so can Google.

[@mohammadhashir764]

Is it available on pixel 7 series

[@Vikigredicak]

Do Xiaomi 14 series phones have good desktop mode?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Nope.

[@MarkCucchiara]

It is ridiculous that I have old HTC One X+, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S7, LG G7 and LG V60 that have a decent MHL to HDMI but Google chooses to force you to buy you and use the crappy Chromecast dongle to use on my 7a (and 6a and 4a5g before that) that has lousy stability and picture quality.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's sad to consider how excited I am that Pixels are FINALLY catching up to a feature we've had for YEARS on other premium phones, but here we are.

[@simoneatough6391]

Is this feature coming to picel 7 as well?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Unfortunately I dont know (but don't think) the earlier pixels have video out hardware support.

[@PrinceAnkrah]

There is a way to make is look more cooler. Increase the minimum width to 612 And change the text display size to small

[@freezy1800]

Does desktop mode support cloud gaming like geforce now?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I can use the xbox app in desktop mode yeah. I haven't tried NVIDIA though.

[@danijelujcic8644]

I pre-ordered a NexDock XL for my elderly parents (and me, whenever I manage to visit them for a few days) but it's too early ... Only 738 out of 1000 pre-orders required to start manufacturing :-( Hopefully, in 2026, we can get a 17" 4K USB4 NexDock XXL ... Would definitely get one, or even two ... Fingers crossed ... I guess nothing will happen unless Apple finally decides to compete /s

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Ugh I know it. It's so frustrating to see this idea playing out so slowly. I really hoped we'd be further along, and have more choices for supporting hardware.

[@farishanafiah8461]

Apple could have give us Stage Manager for iOS, but then don't want to disrupt the iPad sales in the same way that Apple don't put macOS on iPad Pro because it would disrupt the MacBook Air/Pro sales.

[@danijelujcic8644]

@@farishanafiah8461 Pretty much. Selling just phones and a few lapdocks isn't something the big companies would want to do. I guess this is also why Samsung doesn't want to put too much effort into DeX. They're just on standby. Just in case. We're SOL (& JWF).

[@sonofage]

i would love if google allowed actual extensions to run on their bloody android browser, instead of me going with say, kiwi browser or lemur browser. EVEN firefox have a better array of options for that. Android, common, Google. work it out.

[@user-yv7dt5je1l]

Can't build android on Android yet. I still need a computer.

[@BarryJohnson]

Thank you Google!!!!!! Finally 😂😂😂

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

FLIPPING FINALLY!!!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

FLIPPING FINALLY!!!

[@BarryJohnson]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Yep 🤣🤣

[@burhanbudak6041]

Google should go all in on this, this will force Apple to unify iOS amd iPadOS

[@vasudevmenon2496]

Is the laptop a Razer 17?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I haven't shown any laptops in this. You're seeing a "LapDock". In that scene, it's connected to the Razer Edge gaming portable.

[@vasudevmenon2496]

@@SomeGadgetGuy both of them are not available in India. Lapdock really looks good.

[@vasudevmenon2496]

@@SomeGadgetGuy both of them aren't available in India. Lapdock looks pretty cool though.

[@TaureanSmoke]

This is an exciting update. But for me desktop modes on phones...little gimmicky! For me, I'm more of a minimalist and I just don't see how bringing my phone a monitor a mouse and a Bluetooth keyboard is supposed to make my workflow faster when a laptop is literally all of those things in one. Plus I still have my phone for a second display if I need it!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I'd flip that around. Let's say you had a $800 budget to hook a student up with a phone and a PC. One option would be to buy an ok mid-ranger and an ok laptop. Some folks might opt for a better phone and accessories to use that phone like a PC. Other folks might spend more on the PC, and get an entry level phone. All answers are valid. That's why we want competition.

[@farishanafiah8461]

That's why lapdocks exist. I still can't see the point of bringing standalone portable monitor, mouse, and keyboard when they all can be crammed in a laptop shell form. And another thing: Lapdocks can be used beyond smartphones. I have no problem using my lapdock for my Windows PC. It's a great and useful gadget to have if you have limited spaces to deal with.

[@TaureanSmoke]

​@@farishanafiah8461 That's overall my point. Desktop mode on phones are absolutely useless. I think it's one of those things where you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist because there's already a product that exists, which is the easiest form of desktop modes on phones which are laptops. Again, when we're talking about workflow and minimalism having a monitor or portable mouse, a portable keyboard is not easier. Which is why most people don't actually care about desktop modes on phones cuz they see the issues. I'm not saying I don't want my flagship phone to have every feature but at the same time people on a budget don't care about stuff like this and those are the people who would be looking for the minimalistic lifestyle because they can't afford all these devices plus all these accessories! No they're just going to get a 400 to $500 laptop and literally just do everything on that because that's the simplest thing.

[@farishanafiah8461]

​@@TaureanSmoke I get your point, most people still has no idea about this kind of capability. But if you go to r/SamsungDeX, you won't believe how many DeX users don't even own a standalone Windows PC, be it desktop or laptop, in the first place. I will agree that Android mobile apps don't offer equal functionality to Windows/Linux desktop softwares, but most people still have no problem using mobile apps to do productivity-related work. Speaking of Linux, you can even see them running desktop Linux on DeX using Termux. As for your point about "people in budget", you can still get a 2019-2021 flagship phones with Desktop Mode capability between $200 to $300, and still get the same amount of performance as newer x86 CPUs. I am aware about used standalone laptops around the $500 mark, but they all tend to have aging CPU. Some that I found are still running 6th and 7th gen Intel CPUs.

[@user-iy6ko1bz4y]

Is this a late April Fools joke 😮 This is exciting

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Nope! No foolin! It's legit!

[@mawash0309]

time to bring out my NextBook

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

😎👍

[@aljibejerwin]

would this come to 7 Pro?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I don't believe any other pixels have had hardware support for video out. I would be very happy to be wrong about that.

[@aljibejerwin]

@@SomeGadgetGuy oh :(

[@hermanwooster8944]

I know I'm 4 months late, but do you think the rumors are true that Google is going to port ChromeOS to the phone?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I think it'll be a BIT more complicated than that, but I think long term, ChromeOS will be folded into whatever the future of Android is.

[@hermanwooster8944]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Thanks for the response! I'd like to see a complete desktop experience from a mobile device. It feels like we're so close yet so far!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I want that SO bad.

[@osheadavis]

Finally

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

ITS TAKEN SOOOO LOOOONNNG!!!

[@osheadavis]

@@SomeGadgetGuy desktop mode it something I like using and so my choices are limited . Looking forward to having more choices.

[@the987abc]

But nothing for the Pixel Fold, ey?!?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I dont believe tensor 2 powered phones have hardware support for video output.

[@the987abc]

@@SomeGadgetGuy : Right, that's what i've been hearing. Just tough 🫡 #hopingforatechmiracle

[@moatasimfarooque7952]

Doesnt work on pixel 7

[@WarmProp]

If Google, Samsung etc had taken desktop mode and continiuum seriously the past ten years... Most apps would have mobile and desktop facade in them by now and you'd get by with just one device for day-to-day tasks. I feel its such a waste of technology.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's the most frustrating aspect of tech "reviewer" reactions to this stuff. They pan things that are useful, and exciting, but still need a little polish. So we don't get anywhere. Then they complain that stuff is "boring". Now I feel it's up to companies like Oppo. They don't sell laptops to worry about losing sales there. If we got a good desktop mode on a Find X and a OnePlus, that could be a fun way to reignite more conversation around these features.

[@pra.cent1920]

If Dex can do it years ago, why can't Android

[@IrfanShaikh-ld3mf]

Hopefully they don't discard this feature in future...

[@zaklix312]

Android 15, like Android 14, is a big piece of garbage, because it seems that the most capable programmers have been transferred to AI, while the worst quality of Android development remains! I have a google pixel 7 pro and when I switched from Android 13 to Android 14 and then to Android 15 beta, calls still drop. So what is the basis and what is called a telephone, you cannot talk normally! There are thousands of posts on google support forums about this problem from Australia to Africa to Canada and they can't solve this problem! At least give part of the code around the call to be copied from Android 13! They even rudely tell you that your sim or operator is not working, and when you go back to Android 13, everything works perfectly again.

[@donniethesportsguy893]

Coming in IOS 57.2 😂

[@shiro214okane]

My workphone is lg v50s (heavily modded both software and hardware) bought it really cheap for 135 or 137 USD. Gotta love its built-in desktop mode the only real alternate for samsung dex, then there's also motorola and huawei, there's also on some lenovo phones and tablets.

[@tombouie]

Thks

[@Aviv]

It still looks like junk next to dex

[@farishanafiah8461]

To be fair, Samsung has been developing DeX since 2017.

[@33up24]

PLS don't mention LG again. I'm so f#ckig pissed that there's not a single manufacturer that gives you a bunch of features like the LG V series did. My CUP just died a couple of months ago and it's been hell trying to find a proper replacement. Sony is the only manufacturer that gets close to them, but I'm not paying over grand for one of their smartphones.

[@farishanafiah8461]

Sony phones aren't any more expensive than its rivals. In fact, here in Malaysia, Sony Xperia 1/5 are actually cheaper than their iPhone Pro and Galaxy S counterpart.

[@lordlopes7777]

If every android mobile phone works well with this feature on Android 15,then Samsung will have to make something very original to make people think about buying their phones in the future.

[@silva_br1]

I'd rather use tablet instead.

[@farishanafiah8461]

Not everyone wants to bring large displays around. Also, Android tablets always tends to have worse specs than the phone. Oh, and another thing: Not all apps are still well optimized for tablets.

[@FAT8893]

​@@farishanafiah8461If we see more Android/Windows tablets with built-in HDMI/USB-C/DP IN port like we got in Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 and Minisforum V3, that wouldn't have been so bad. But then again, they want us to pay more for "ecosystem", so I still can't see Android Desktop Mode fully replaces Android tablets and Chromebooks just yet. But with the ever-growing amounf of e-waste, maybe it's about time we see Desktop Mode as a small step towards environmental sustainability.

[@arkvsi8142]

Android 15 is just yet another version with more google bloateare forced into the system.........even on other brands

[@young-salt]

0 views in first 16 seconds? Fell off

[@young-salt]

Jk, cool video tho

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Well I wholly expect KZbin to trash this video if it starts building any momentum.

[@kurakuson]

​@SomeGadgetGuy . .....just mention Apple once, and you'll remain in good standing with the algorithm.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Apple iphone ipad mac macos ios macbook vision pro

[@kurakuson]

@@SomeGadgetGuy ....and iDex?

[@MrOrtmeier]

I say this in all seriousness: Samsung should take over Android development from Google. Samsung has had features WAY, WAY, WAAAAAYY ahead of stock Android and continues to offer a FAR superior experience than stock Android does. Google seems to have lost interest in Android. It looks like there is only 1 dev who's actually works on it. Seriously man, think about it. Every new feature on recent Android was taken from Samsung. Even the freaking Nearby Share or whatever the hell it's called now. The Good Lock module alone offers features that Google haven't even dreamed of yet. I'm VERY disappointed in Google for dropping the ball like this. If i was Samsung I'd be tempted to fork Android and develop my own version of it that CRUSHES all the competition.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I see where you're going, but that wouldn't be good for Android either. Things like desktop mode modules in Goodlock only got better recently because Moto leapfrogged them with ReadyFor. The only winning move is competition, and to encourage tech reviewers to actually acknowledge good competition instead of shrugging off smaller brands that dont get as many clicks on videos.

[@MrOrtmeier]

@@SomeGadgetGuy Yeah you're right. I wish we would see more of that. I'm interested to see how this pans out for Huawei because they have essentially had to fork Android in a way and come up with a "new" OS. But I don't know all the details.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Same. I haven't earnestly played with a Huawei since the Mate 20 days, but the new models are making HUGE gains in China right now. Almost like Google services aren't as "necessary" as we gadget nerds like to talk about them.