Ricardo Aguilar, a colleague at Xataka, knows a lot about mobile phones, so from time to time he throws some insult at me about my already somewhat mature Pixel 8 Pro. Today, however, the insult is mine.
Because? Well, because as he himself warned the team, Android ‘desktop mode’ is finally available. This optionthat I’ve been waiting for years (he knows it well) it also arrives in a limited way, because only some devices can enjoy it. Specifically, the recent Pixels. And my Pixel 8 Pro is one of them.
In the past I have tested this feature on other devices: I did it of course on Samsungs, which has been offering it through DeX for yearsand also on some other mobile such as Motorola and some Huawei models, which they also boasted of said characteristic.
Google had been around for a while raising this possibilityand last year an Android beta appeared that offered this capability. Now that option is finally officially available, although as we say, for now only on Google Pixels starting with Pixel 8.
Enviable start-up
To activate this option you must first activate the developer options in the Android settings, and then enable option for desktop features which we can find almost at the end of those options for developers. Once this is done, the system asks for a restart, after which everything is ready to use desktop mode.
To do this, I connected a 15-inch external monitor to my Pixel through a USB-C to Micro HDMI cable (I tried a USB-C to USB-C cable, but the cable I used had a small problem).
By detecting that we connect the mobile phone to a screen, The Pixel gives us the option of using the mobile phone as a “Computer” (the desktop mode itself) or of projecting it as it has been possible to do for years.
I chose the first option and I finally found that desktop mode that basically makes Android becomes a hybrid operating system which works practically the same as Windows, Linux or macOS do on a PC or laptop.
Thus, we have a desktop in which there is a lower bar with the application launcher and a series of “pinned” apps, and at the top a system bar that allows, for example, access to notifications and quick settings on our mobile.
From there the experience is very similar to using a PC. We can open applications and, of course, resize and move windows to place them however we like on the desktop.
I normally use two competing advantages of the browser to work on the topics I prepare for Engadget, and that is exactly the configuration I have used to write this text: with two Chrome windows I have worked practically the same as I usually do on my Mac mini M4.
A small change of mentality
Obviously in that desktop mode it is necessary connect a mouse and keyboard to the Pixelwhich I have connected via Bluetooth. The detection and operation of these devices was carried out without problems, and once on the desktop everything works, I insist, as one would expect.
You can quickly launch apps from the taskbar launcher and pin certain apps to that taskbar. It is also possible to show all open applications with that old access at the bottom right with a square-shaped icon.
There is a strange feeling here because logically what you are using are the applications on your mobile phone natively. Thus, it is not necessary to open WhatsApp in a browser tab because you already have the native app ready and running in the background, and the same goes for the rest of the options, such as the Twitter app (X) or YouTube: they are not tabs, but full-fledged apps.
It is a slight but curious change of mentality, of course. And there is also the other reality: some apps that we usually use on the desktop are not as clear as those on Windows or macOS.
There is a clear example in the file explorer: Android has its own (Files) and I, for example, usually use Amaze for these tasks, but Google has never conceived Android as an operating system in which the user messes with files and folders.
We can do it, yes, but it is not the strong point of this platform, as neither is it, for example, working with the command console. Here again that possibility exists, but you have to “play around” a little more to be able to install a terminal and use it in a similar way as we would do in Linux, macOS or in Windows CMD/Powershell.
I have not tried much more demanding applications at the moment, but this opens the door to using some more advanced and ambitious applications in desktop mode: here it occurs to me that an image or video editor could be a striking candidate to take advantage of this desktop mode.
There is also striking scope here for entertainment with games that we can play with a mouse and keyboard as we would on a PC, even though they are games for Android. The possibilities are most striking.
Your PC can certainly be your mobile
These tests have made me realize that this definitely opens up those possibilities that we have been talking about for years. A laptop normally solves the mobility issue, but if you need to have “your PC” anywhereyou don’t even need that anymore: if you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse somewhere else, this Android desktop mode allows you to use your device almost like a PC.
I just did it while writing this article, and the truth is, the experience has been surprisingly good. Not perfect, mind you– The on-screen keyboard appears from time to time as if the system does not detect that you have a physical one connected, for example, and window management is not as intuitive as one might wish. But still the overall result is fantastic in my opinion.
Many users may not be taking advantage of it, but the fact that it is there is certainly a sign that convergence between devices made sense. I, of course, am very happy: I can finally give Ricardo a shout-out. That’s something.
In Xataka | The most underrated feature of Android is also one of the most productive: turning your phone into a PC
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