For as long as Android phones have existed, people have dreamed of using them as the brains inside a desktop computing setup. Samsung accomplished this nearly a decade ago, but the rest of the Android world has been left out. Android 17 is finally changing that with a new desktop mode, and I tried it out.
Google has been working on bringing desktop mode to non-Samsung Android phones for a while already. If you have a Pixel phone running Android 16, you can enable some developer settings to try it. However, in Android 17 beta 1, you don’t have to do anything special, and it’s a bit further along. I tested it on a Pixel 9 with a DisplayPort to USB-C cable.
I’m fully aware that desktop mode is still a work in progress, but there are a few things in particular that I’m hoping to see get added or ironed out before the final release.
Better “desktop mode” for mobile browsers
Firefox for Android in desktop mode.Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Chromebooks became popular because of how most people use computers. There’s no need for a high-powered machine if you spend most of your time in the browser. An Android phone with desktop mode could be perfect for that same purpose, but I’ve found the browser experience lacking.
Google is in the process of fixing this with Chrome (it has been for a long time already), but it still doesn’t feel like a “desktop” browser. There are tabs across the top and a few other visual changes, but when you look past the surface, it still very much feels like a mobile browser. Websites don’t display properly unless you force desktop mode, and even then, the layout is often still too blown up.
The situation is much worse if Chrome isn’t your browser of choice. I happen to prefer Firefox, and its Android version is woefully ill-equipped for desktop mode. The app doesn’t even have a traditional tab bar across the top—you need Firefox Beta for that. The page layout issue is even worse with Firefox, too. Chrome has zoom controls so you can somewhat fix poorly displayed pages, but Firefox does not.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Internet browser in DeX mode with a Galaxy phone feels like a true desktop-class browser. Google and other Android developers have a lot of work to do to get there.
Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Another thing that Samsung DeX has is the ability to put widgets on the home screen. This is obviously a core part of the Android experience, but the current version of desktop mode doesn’t support them. That’s a shame, because a big, blank desktop is the perfect place for widgets, and Android has so many to choose from.
Desktop widgets on Samsung DeX.Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
In fact, the desktop is entirely off limits in the current version of desktop mode. You can’t put widgets, shortcuts, or apps on it. Even the wallpaper doesn’t really work. However, I’m not super worried about this one. Samsung has already done it, and I feel confident that Google will have the desktop more useful and customizable when it’s ready for prime time.
Using your phone as a trackpad
Samsung DeX with trackpad on phone.Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
A small but appreciated feature of Samsung DeX is the ability to use your phone as a trackpad. As soon as the phone is connected to an external display, a notification that says “Use your phone as a touchpad” appears. All you have to do is tap it, and you’re presented with a full-screen trackpad for your fingers.
I found this to be genuinely very useful. The trackpad works surprisingly well, and it even supports multi-finger gestures. I could see myself using this as a full replacement for a mouse alongside a physical keyboard. That’s one less thing to carry around and connect to your phone. Google’s desktop mode doesn’t have anything like this yet, and all the third-party touchpad apps are for controlling the mouse on connected devices—not the phone itself.
More organized desktop-specific settings
Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
One thing I was really surprised by was the lack of settings for desktop mode. Currently, there’s only a handful of options for the external display. You can choose the display size, resolution (I was happy to see my widescreen supported), orientation, and how the display behaves (mirror or separate).
Thankfully, Android already has settings for physical keyboards, mice, and trackpads. However, all of this stuff is scattered throughout the Settings app. It would be very beneficial to have one area with all the desktop mode-related options that appear when you’re in desktop mode.
While on the subject of desktop mode settings, there are a few little niceties I’d like to see in the future. I want to be able to choose which side of the screen the taskbar lives on. More window tiling options would also be nice. Currently, you can only do the right or left half of the screen.
Better Quick Settings and Notifications
Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Here’s another one I’m pretty confident Google will eventually sort out, but it still needs to be mentioned. Currently, the Quick Settings and Notifications panel looks like it does on a foldable phone—toggles on one half, notifications on the other. Opening the panel also works as it does on a phone. You can either swipe down or tap the clock or status icons.
The problem is that it takes up the entire screen when opened. It’s just way too big, which makes it awkward to use with a mouse. I also don’t like that they’re accessed from the top of the screen. That feels very unnatural in a desktop environment. Samsung DeX has solved both of these issues with compact pop-ups from the bottom taskbar. I’m hoping Google will eventually adopt the same look.
As I mentioned a few times, Google is still working on Android’s desktop mode. I know it will get better before the final version is ready for everyone to use. Google and Samsung are collaborating on this, so I hope to see much more DeX influence over time.
