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A year ago this week, I looked at the then new DeX app for Windows, which provides an Android-based desktop environment. I’ve always been fascinated by this sort of thing and the promise of a single device that could, through a combination of hardware and software wizardry, replace two devices. But at the time, I found that performance issues made the experience extremely difficult. It was basically unusable.
For old-time Windows phone fans like me, Samsung DeX is of course a modern take on Continuum, a Windows desktop environment that required a USB-C hub and an external keyboard, mouse, and display. As originally envisioned in March 2017, Samsung DeX also required a hub, but with the August 2019 release of the Note 10 line, Samsung released DeX apps for Windows and Mac, allowing PC users to experience this environment. using the screen, keyboard and mouse they need. you are already using it.
Year after year, the DeX experience I’m seeing today with my Note 20 Ultra review unit seems very similar to what I saw previously. But there is a major change: the performance is much better now and while there are occasional small slowdowns, it can be used in general. And that suggests to me that a hardware-based solution, with a dedicated USB-C, display, keyboard, and mouse, would probably work quite well.
My only qualm here is that DeX is something that should come from the platform manufacturer, in this case Google. There are some precedents for third-party features like this coming to Android, but for now at least, it’s a Samsung-exclusive feature and limited to its flagship phones.
All that said, DeX works well and should be familiar to anyone who has used Windows or any other desktop environment. There’s a desktop with a Start-like button, a taskbar, and a notification area with a clock and other related icons. And that taskbar now looks and works more like what we see in Windows.
The screen I’m using is 2160 x 1440 and from what I can tell DeX wants to run at 1920 x 1080 so it’s a bit blurry when used in full screen. But when I restore the window, so that it is floating, not full screen, it is sharp.
When you select the button similar to Start, and the All Apps view appears on multiple pages if necessary, and there is a nice “Check App for Samsung DeX” link to help you find apps optimized for this desktop environment.
Experimenting with some apps, I found the effect I was hoping for on your phone’s new app capabilities: Properly written apps will dynamically adapt your layouts as you resize them. (And DeX goes one step further by making any app’s default view a square window shape instead of the typical vertical-style phone-shaped window. So Outlook for Android, for example, will expand to show additional column views if you make it bigger and wider.
I also discovered another aspect of the partnership between Samsung and Microsoft: Samsung is telling its users to replace Samsung Cloud with OneDrive in its Gallery app. We already knew that there would be some link between Samsung Gallery and OneDrive, but we were confused as to why they were doing this. But it looks like Samsung will keep the app while it ditchs its online service and turns that role over to Microsoft. I think that’s smart.
Not all applications understand or work well with DeX. The Microsoft Office app, embarrassingly, is one of those apps even though it’s pre-installed on the Note. You can resize as much as you like, but it will feature a one-column layout that’s optimized for just one phone.
Microsoft Word, however, is another interesting example of a great Microsoft mobile app. It looks a lot like the old Word Mobile app for Windows or Word for the web.
In its current form, DeX works well enough to see if it’s even better with a dedicated hub. But even in this app-based form, it’s a great look at how enjoyable running Android apps can be in a desktop environment.
Tagged with Samsung DeX, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
