This has been hidden in developer options for a while now, but they’re now releasing it officially
This used to be exciting stuff about ten years ago when some of us still thought Google was doing cool things.
https://www.androidauthority.com/desktop-mode-march-pixel-drop-3646069/
Submitted 2 weeks ago by snowdriftissue@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.androidauthority.com/desktop-mode-march-pixel-drop-3646069/
Comments
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think it is just supposed to be Samsung DeX
paequ2@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
That’s cool… I guess…
What I really want is to continue to use F-Droid though.
eleitl@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Install Graphene OS on your Pixel.
paequ2@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
I’m not giving Google anymore money. I’m actively going to vote for their competitor, Motorola+GrapheneOS.
(Not buying used Pixel.)
Landless2029@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This doesn’t stop the drastic drop in popularity (and potentially development) of FOSS apps.
Lack of users means lack of donations.
We need to stop this BS instead of just trying to get a workaround.
JTskulk@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Why say “Your Pixel can now…” when my Pixel can’t? Why not say “Pixel 8 and newer devices can now…”.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
JTskulk, it is only your Pixel that can not. It works for older Pixels as well, but they specifically tied a few kill switches to your commonly known geo-locations and anyone who ties their shoelaces in a fashion deemed less mertiable.
victorz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
their shoelaces in a fashion deemed less mertiable
Ian Knot ftw. Can’t beat it.
ToTheGraveMyLove@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Jokes on them, I wear velcro shoes!
Fetus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
So sort of like the Continuum mode that Windows Phones had, like, ten years ago?
Yaky@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Like desktop mode on Librem5 in 2020, convergence on PinePhone from 2021, or Samsung Dex from a few years ago, too.
cabbage@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
And every Ubuntu Touch device with support for external monitors for the last ten years or so. Here’s a demonstration running on a Fairphone 4.
Ulrich@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Oh the Motorola Atrix from like, 2014? I still have the lapdock. Used it with an original RPi for a while to make a terrible laptop.
masterspace@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Literally every Samsung Android phone has come with their Dex desktop for like 10 years too.
I fucking hate Google at this point. They’re just an even shittier version of apple now.
Ulrich@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Brother, Apple wrote that playbook 🤣
greyscale@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
Yes, but even a diamond encrusted turd still gets flushed, diamonds and all.
MIXEDUNIVERS@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
i hope it comes to graphene os
Harmonics041@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Its already available in developer settings on grapheneos I use it daily
umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
yay, locked down unrepairable computers owned by a us company that aids in war and surveillance!
snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
locked down How? They allow users to install 3rd party ROMs and GrapheneOS
unrepairable They’re not the best, but far from the worst. I’ve done multiple repairs on mine without much issue. There are first party parts and guides available on iFixit.
us company I guess?
aids in war and surveillance! You’d be hard pressed to find a manufacturer that doesn’t
umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
android in general is pretty locked down. following this trend will see actually unlocked and repairable computers replaced by locked phones.
pixels are fine but not available everywhere.
100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
It’s either Linux phone or fighting in the trenches a losing battle against one the most powerful companies in history. Android offering a desktop mode is good if taken in the context of running an open source software on hardware you own.
umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
yeah, it’s nice in that context.
in fact, it’s something that could have been a thing for a while, they had phones doing this in 2012ish.
Xatolos@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
We are talking about Android, not Apple.
Android phones can be user repaired and repaired by third parties without Googles permission.
umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
depends on what you need repaired. upgrades are a big no too.
hanrahan@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Samsung has been doing this with Dex for many years ffs.
ricecake@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Yes. And now it’s native in all android! Samsung helped make it!
It’s good when things get better.
filcuk@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
It’s good to have a non-vendor specific solution. Although samsung has switched to this and has lost some features for the time being, it should be a benefit long term.
Jumbie@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
What is an android PC? Is that like a boat car?
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
All phones are PCs, this is just connecting external displays.
rodneylives@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Mobile devices tend to be much less versatile than PCs, mind you, and on purpose, due to one of Steve Jobs’ most misguided apprehensions, that it’d be a good idea to hide the filesystem from the user. (Cue someone somehow claiming that’s Good Actually in three, two, one…)
MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
It’s more than just that, it’s too slow a desktop OS like environment that’s more suited for mouse and keyboard too. It’s not just your phone screen on a bigger screen.
snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Nah it’s more like a toaster fridge
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
A PC where I can’t install what I want? WTF is the point of that bullshit.
Thanks but I’ll stick to my steam deck for my portable Linux computing needs where I can do what the hell I want.
snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I guess we’ll see how that goes come September timeframe.
sonofearth@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Imagine what the world could be if we had repairable Arch Linux Phones that can go full desktop mode just like the pixel rn. Aaahhh that turns me on!🤤
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 2 weeks ago
I would definitely not carry my main computer around with me everywhere. Lose/brake/get is stolen and you’re seriously fucked. Too much risk. And it’s not my main computer why would I connect to screens and peripherals?
duncan_bayne@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There is no such thing as an Android PC.
nao@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Now there is
ramenshaman@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No, it’s a phone with a monitor and keyboard. As far as I’m concerned a Chromebook is also not a PC, it’s a phone that’s shaped like a laptop.
duncan_bayne@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Sorry, I was being snarky. What I meant was that a computer running Android (or iOS) can’t really be counted as a PC, in the sense that Google (or Apple) control what you do with it.
jjs@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Anyone know if this works with GrapheneOS? I haven’t tested this in a very long time and then I was on stock. Android.
snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It does in fact work with GOS
djdarren@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I last tried out the beta version of it on Graphene a couple of months back and it was rough. In fairness though, I was mostly using it to figure out how to use it to install a full fat Linux distro, which is probably a niche use.
My phone’s just updated, so I’ll give it another spin when I get home tonight and report back.
BladeFederation@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
It works fine enough. It’s not going to replace my desktop PC any time. soon but it helps a lot for anything involving word processing/documents, as well as gaming on TVs and monitors.
ITGuyLevi@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
It works okay, but not great for me. I toss my phone on one of my old laptops docking station at work, but some apps like to force a shit resolution. It is pretty neat having them in moveable windows though.
Ulrich@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Have you used the latest version?
ITGuyLevi@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
I haven’t used it in the past few months, I’ll definitely give it another try though
kokesh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’ve bought 1920x1200 IPS screen from temu. It is small, runs off the phone (if you want) power and works brilliantly. I’m using Windows RDP to use my desktop anywhere I want in the house. Works great for a few month, I had lower resolution for a couple updates, but the current version running on Android 17 Beta2 works just fine, at full resolution.
Toldry@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Could you link the screen from temu?
HubertManne@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
last thing I want is an android pc. well maybe not the last but nope
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I found these kind of features really useful. I had to submit some documents that I needed to do some work on before they got sent off. Everything was local, and with a keyboard/monitor/mouse I could have a browser, my email, and the document I was editing on the screen at the same time. So much faster typing and clicking.
I use my Steamdeck for that more often now if I just want a desktop while i am traveling if I don’t want to bring the laptop. I just mount the phone as a folder, so even that is easy.
HubertManne@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I mean I get it kinda. I just have never really went for the smartphone thing. The laptop is basically my end all be all of technology. I too though love my steamdeck. I actually bought it as kinda of indulgence that I justified with the idea it would become my new laptop but I really like having gaming on a different device and just not worrying about it on my laptop.
arcine@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
Since I have to carry a keyboard anyway, I’m just going to carry a full laptop instead.
k0e3@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yeah I thought this was cool and having been trying it for a year because I used to travel a lot for work. But I realized carrying my portable monitor and keyboard wasn’t much different from carrying my Surface. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it’s less useful than it seems.
TheBlackLounge@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Maybe to turn a refurbed pixel into a hole server?
Reygle@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have a 9a running Graphene and with a “usb C laptop dock” I can use it in “desktop mode”, but I would warn that it is still EXTREMELY buggy and finnicky.
Still neat though.
neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I love this! Wish iPhone would have this feature.
If so, I could do all my work with just my iPhone.
I have a 15, and will hold out on a new iPhone for at least 4-5 years. I may go longer if there is not a desktop mode by then though.
Halcyon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
And are there apps for normal desktop office work?
I’m surely not gonna use Google docs or Microsoft’s cloud clobber.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
And a monitor that supports usb-c, I assume.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
It didn’t already do this? Why did I have phones and tablets that could do this already?
mrnngglry@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
For some reason, I thought this was already possible and it was something I was jealous of as an iPhone user.
artyom@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I’ve been waiting for this for a while. Is it really “stable” though? There’s very limited info on this but what little there is seems to suggest it’s not ready.
rodneylives@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yes, although it will be a full ANDROID PC.
btsax@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
I had video out via MHL back in like 2013 and a usable desktop environment on an HTC M7 or something like that. Haven’t had a phone that could do anything similar since, and it’s kind of wild with how much more powerful phones are these days that desktop modes aren’t more common. I would love to not have to carry a laptop around when my phone is more than powerful enough for what I do for work.
JTode@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In other news, Windows has Linux built-in now, so you don’t need to ever install it yourself!
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Oh, so your Pixel, but not my Pixel.
masterspace@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Let’s be clear, for a feature that Samsung phones have had for a decade at this point.
atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
This feature debuted on the Moto Atrix in 2011. There was even a version of Ubuntu that could use the feature.
zelifcam@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They sure did have a version of it. But you had to run their privacy nightmare app suite on their mutilated android OS. So no who one cared or cares.
BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
sad pixel 5 noises
I’ve been waiting for a camera bump free upgrade, the 10a might be it but I’m reluctant to continue up the phone size escalator.
snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My guy if you use that phone for anything remotely sensitive you should get a new one. It hasn’t received security updates in over 2 years
Pxtl@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yeah, I have a pixel 7 and was disappointed on vacation to learn that its USB-C port can’t do video when I wanted to plug it into a hotel room TV.
I don’t get why this is a Pixel thing at all and not an Android thing though. Shouldn’t any Android OS device that can do full video output over USB-C be able to do this?
aquovie@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
Video out is frustratingly uncommon. Samsung, some Sony’s, and only very recently Pixels. Google was vocally against video out for a long time. And SD cards (gotta pay for drive). You were expected to roll the dice with whether Chromecast works with a random TV and wifi combination.
Pixels were popular for two reasons: the camera and “basic black rectangle” device (RIP Nexus).
criticon@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Not all USB-C are equal. They can add or remove features as they please
Ulrich@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
It will eventually. Pixels are usually the first ones to get everything because they are first-party devices.
BladeFederation@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
It’s supposed to be for Android 16 kn general once the feature is fully baked
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
I am confused.
In developer options in basic android you can simply enable the feature right?
My old Sony xperia 5 ii can do that and it definitely isn’t a Sony feature…
Armand1@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Our Pixel ⚒️🎵
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
The 4 (iirc) also had USBC video out but google removed that functionality only to now have a reason to sell you a new phone. I hope its actually good and they publish source for it, otherwise this news is fucking useless.
cole@lemdro.id 2 weeks ago
There were stability issues with the video out. People love to assume malice but most of the time there was actually good reasons
littlewonder@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yep. Pixel 7P over here really bummed that this isn’t available because of poor choices Google made at the hardware level on this phone.