Your Pixel can now double up as a full Android PC with nothing more than a USB-C cable
This has been hidden in developer options for a while now, but they're now releasing it officially. Limited to Pixel 8 and newer devices and no 4k yet.
https://www.androidauthority.com/desktop-mode-march-pixel-drop-3646069/Open linkView original on lemmy.world446
Comments144
Oh, so your Pixel, but not my Pixel.
Let's be clear, for a feature that Samsung phones have had for a decade at this point.
This feature debuted on the Moto Atrix in 2011. There was even a version of Ubuntu that could use the feature.
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.
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. The 8a is about $200 refurbished with 6 more years of updates and you won't notice the bump if you use a case.
I don't use a case and I use Lineage. I'm not really concerned. I already need to crop the top of the screen in developer settings just so that I can reach the notification bar, I'm not really enthusiastic about getting something even bigger.
I'm not sure if lineage has this option, but on my Pixel 8, at least, there's an option in system -> gestures called One-handed mode. If you use gesture navigation, it lets you swipe down on the navigation bar to either drag the top of the screen into reach or open the notification drawer. You can also map it to the accessibility button (and put it in the navigation bar) if you use the 3-button navigation.
I'm sure you're content with your solution, but I just wanted to throw this out here in case you wanted to try something new. ^.^
Yeah I've tried those but it seems like such a hack. Weirdly, the one handed "pull screen into reach" doesn't allow you to swipe down across the notifications bar to open notifications, in that mode it only registers swipes that start from below the notifications bar. And the floating button gets a little unwieldy since it overlaps with the volume popup. And in the "show notifications" mode, the button opens notifications but doesn't let you close them (once you press it twice for the "control center" it no longer does anything)
Not to mention it doesn't really help with the phone itself being uncomfortable to hold. I'm trying my best to vote with my wallet, but that has meant sticking with a Pixel 2 up until a few years ago, and the Pixel 5 was my "only 2mm taller" compromise - I completely overlooked the fact that the Pixel 2 screen starts like 1cm from the top while the Pixel 5 screen starts nearly at the top. The Pixel 10a is almost 10mm taller, so I'm not sure if I'll be sold on it.
I actually bought a OnePlus 6 something (t?) at one point fully intending to give in to a bigger screen but I hated it and returned it.
If you're still making use of play store apps, I quite like Quick Cursor. I'm on a Pixel 8 Pro and I miss my 3A.
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?
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).
Yeah, Chromecast has been kind of a disaster for Google imho, in that it never got widespread adoption in TVs. If they'd pushed an open standard they might've been able to get that over the finish-line and get buy-in from 3rd parties. But instead every smart TV and smart phone has its own video streaming approach, it seems.
The LG V20 had it all, still miss daily driving that phone
I had the Nexus 6 and then moved to the V30. Both of those phones were awesome and I still miss them.
Not all USB-C are equal. They can add or remove features as they please
Right but I'm specifically referring to devices where their USB-C port is capable of full video out.
It's supposed to be for Android 16 kn general once the feature is fully baked
It will eventually. Pixels are usually the first ones to get everything because they are first-party devices.
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...
There's hardware required to shunt the display out the USB port and since it's not a super in demand feature they usually don't implement it. As such the software for looking nice while doing it isn't as developed.
But yes, it's been in developer settings for years, and was usable if your hardware supported it.
Our Pixel ⚒️🎵
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 as part of AOSP, otherwise this news is fucking useless.
There were stability issues with the video out. People love to assume malice but most of the time there was actually good reasons
Thats nonsense, there are plenty of phones and tablets with usbc video output. Its been a feature for like a decade. Other companies have had working desktop modes for a long time and google just abandoned their work on it until they decided they could use it as a marketing feature. They probably just didnt want the pixel to cut into the chromebook marketshare.
this has been well covered by now. just cause it works in product x, doesn't mean it was implemented correctly in product y
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.
This used to be exciting stuff about ten years ago when some of us still thought Google was doing cool things.
I think it is just supposed to be Samsung DeX
That's cool... I guess...
What I really want is to continue to use F-Droid though.
Install Graphene OS on your Pixel.
I'm not giving Google anymore money. I'm actively going to vote for their competitor, Motorola+GrapheneOS.
(Not buying used Pixel.)
I understood OP already has one.
Motorola, yes, but that's 2027, or thereabouts. As a stop-gap, there's Lineage OS.
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.
There is no workaround for proprietary platforms other than stopping using them.
Why say "Your Pixel can now..." when my Pixel can't? Why not say "Pixel 8 and newer devices can now...".
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.
Ian Knot ftw. Can't beat it.
I have to deduct a merit for myself, as I now see I spelled meritable with a typo.
lol, love you 😄
I knew it!
Yeah meanwhile I was over in the corner trying to figure out how all my laces are tangled in the Velcro of my roller blades. I swear whoever designed Velcro and laces to exist on the same contraption was just trying to be a dick
LOL, sorry bud, but it's only YOUR laces that get caught in Velcro. Other people's laces are Velcro-resistant. Your rollerblade manufacturer is just fucking with you.
damn, I knew there was an alterior motive to the knee pads, no one liked those things.
Jokes on them, I wear velcro shoes!
So sort of like the Continuum mode that Windows Phones had, like, ten years ago?
Like desktop mode on Librem5 in 2020, convergence on PinePhone from 2021, or Samsung Dex from a few years ago, too.
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.
Sadly it won't work on fairphone 6 because it only has USB 2.0 and there isn't enough bandwidth.
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.
Wiki says the model is from 2011, and all that functionality was implemented on Android 2.3.x, impressive! Google is only 14 versions behind.
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. Locking down their shit for no reason, and claiming decades old innovations are actually new and theirs.
Brother, Apple wrote that playbook 🤣
Yes, but even a diamond encrusted turd still gets flushed, diamonds and all.
i hope it comes to graphene os
Its already available in developer settings on grapheneos I use it daily
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.
How? They allow users to install 3rd party ROMs and GrapheneOS
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.
I guess?
You'd be hard pressed to find a manufacturer that doesn't
This feature is a positive change. Enabling people to minimize the number of devices they need has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of ewaste people generate, and makes desktop features more accessible to people who can't afford multiple devices.
There are a lot of assumptions baked into everything you're saying. It's really not that deep. Google Pixels make up a tiny fraction of total mobile market share. This isn't the start of some doomsday scenario where the only computers available are Google Pixels. You're allowed to buy what you want. I need a phone anyway. All of them are kinda shit from an openness/repairability standpoint. And personally I'd rather have one device than two if I can.
This is a much larger issue that has little to do with anything we're talking about
This does not apply to GrapheneOS, which again you are allowed to install to these devices. Plus they allow use of the linux terminal which people have been experimenting with to run full linux apps (https://www.androidauthority.com/run-desktop-linux-apps-on-android-how-to-3586539/)
We are talking about Android, not Apple.
Android phones can be user repaired and repaired by third parties without Googles permission.
What part can't be repaired? Some parts may be soldered to the board, but the board can be fixed without Googles blessing.
And upgrades were never a part of the original comment, so what does that have to do with my comment?
.
Upgrading isn't repairing, and I said you can repair these devices. My question is what CAN'T you repair, not what can be repaired (which is what I did answer).
.
No, you tried making the false equivalence of claiming that if it cant be fixed for cheap, then it somehow isnt fixable at all.
So it's i can't get a car fixed for less than $100, I guess that means cars aren't fixable?
Samsung has been doing this with Dex for many years ffs.
Yes. And now it's native in all android! Samsung helped make it!
It's good when things get better.
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.
What is an android PC? Is that like a boat car?
All phones are PCs, this is just connecting external displays.
The shock is that it couldn't already.
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...)
Hiding the file system is Good Actually because…
::: spoiler Tap for spoiler Nope, can’t come up with a single reason. It’s fucking terrible. :::
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.
I guess the point is that phone hardware has been powerful enough to do it for a while. It's surprising that no big companies other than Samsung really put any effort into making it work software wise.
Nah it's more like a toaster fridge
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.
Actually....
https://www.androidauthority.com/run-desktop-linux-apps-on-android-how-to-3586539/
I guess we'll see how that goes come September timeframe.
I'm sure it'll go pretty well on GrapheneOS
Not sure why everyone seems to think GrapheneOS is going to be immune and unaffected by Google actively trying to fuck AOSP to death.
We'll see what happens long term but they will be unaffected by the September changes.
Because now they have OEM support.
Oh good, so when AOSP is dead in the water, at least GrapheneOS can release hardware without an OS on it?
I guess there is logic to it, the most secure mobile device you can have is none...
It isn't dead in the water. Google reversed that decision and also I believe part of a lawsuit against google before said it had to maintain the AOSP.
Anyone know if this works with GrapheneOS? I haven’t tested this in a very long time and then I was on stock. Android.
It does in fact work with GOS. I don't believe this build has been released yet though so you likely still need to toggle it on in the dev settings.
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.
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.
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!🤤
Arch user btw
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 if it's not my main computer why would I connect to screens and peripherals?
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.
Have you used the latest version?
I haven't used it in the past few months, I'll definitely give it another try though.
Edit: Oh, yeah this is a bit different. I like the new prompt asking if it's extended or desktop. I will definitely have to play with it a bit more, I had tossed it to the back of my brain as a 'well it exists' feature.
There is no such thing as an Android PC.
Now there is
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.
That's certainly an opinion.
I consider my phone to be a PC, and my work phone not to be, because one is clearly a personal computer, and the other a work computer.
brb.. need to go send an email from the WC
A Chromebook has literally no phone related functionality. No SMS or calling.
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.
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.
Could you link the screen from temu?
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.
You're probably not on the latest release then.
Just got another update yesterday but not sure if there's any "desktop mode" changes in it. So far my complaint is "desktop mode" things I change/set do not carry over to my next "desktop mode" ?session?.
Is that it? What about "bugs and finickyness"?
I tried it a few weeks ago. It didn't feel particularly buggy, but it was pretty slow/sluggish. Not the apps themselves, but moving and resizing windows. Basic UI stuff. Just felt like it was still very much a WIP.
last thing I want is an android pc. well maybe not the last but nope
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.
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.
Since I have to carry a keyboard anyway, I'm just going to carry a full laptop instead.
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.
Maybe to turn a refurbed pixel into a hole server?
From what I've experienced, it's just running android apps on a desktop aesthetic so you get your free floating windows but it's still all android. That's why I'm not sure if using your pixel as a server or any kind is viable. Sorry, I'm not technical enough.
The point is that you can use your personal device instead of a secondary machine. Everything is in one spot: your local files, workspaces, sessions and settings.
I like the idea of leaving one keyboard on my desk at home and one at the office and just carry my work in my pocket.
And are there apps for normal desktop office work?
I'm surely not gonna use Google docs or Microsoft's cloud clobber.
Any apps that are available on Android can be used with desktop mode, including Collabora and OnlyOffice. I assume there will be variable levels of optimization though since this is still so new.
Edit: Forgot to mention that you should also be able to run linux apps https://www.androidauthority.com/run-desktop-linux-apps-on-android-how-to-3586539/
So new, as in, it has been available forever, just not on google phones. But every other manufacturer has done it at one point or another in the last ten years if not more.
Yeah I'm not very familiar with the android landscape since everything that's not GrapheneOS is a total shitshow. Sounds like app optimization may be less of a concern than I anticipated, that's great
For some reason, I thought this was already possible and it was something I was jealous of as an iPhone user.
Samsung S devices have Dex (desktop mode) for years now
Must be what I’m thinking of.
Yeah, I stumbled over that when I wanted to charge my phone while I'm away in a meeting. Plugged it into the USB-C at my desk, suddenly the content of my phone opened up on my two office monitors, lol.
it was, just in an early state under the developer settings
The truth is most pixel devices had the ability to do this but google kneecapped their pixel devices to push chromecast.
It didn't already do this? Why did I have phones and tablets that could do this already?
Google, a decade late to the party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_DeX
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.
iPhones will never have it for the same reason that iPads will never have proper window management and MacBooks will never have touchscreens.
This comment gave me flashbacks to when I tried to use a cheap external touchscreen monitor plugged into an old macbook pro with a singular usb-c cable. It “worked” but the ux was a disaster
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.
And a monitor that supports usb-c, I assume.
Or just a converter from USB-C to whatever you have on your current screen.
DisplayLink. The Dell box I use to hotdesk my office laptop by day also works as a KVM on my pixel 9a. I get power, monitor, keyboard, mouse and ethernet on one cable.
It's good for watching movies.
Do you mean DisplayPort?
No, that's different. Displaylink is basically KVM over USB-C.
I think you mean DP Alt Mode.
As far as i know, display link requires software not available on the pixel, so you must be using display port and confusing both. Display port supports all the things you said
No. DisplayLink is video out over a regular USB protocol/connection, not "alt mode". It's for when you don't have true video out. It's compressed to hell and stupid.
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.
In other news, Windows has Linux built-in now, so you don't need to ever install it yourself!
Yes, although it will be a full ANDROID PC.