Android's future includes a complete desktop mode, and this is what it may look like

 

Google appears to have begun seriously considering the development of a Samsung DeX rival in the spring of 2024. After releasing Display Port support in a Feature Drop and testing a desktop interface, Google eventually updated its inactive desktop mode experience in March by adding a new option.

"Enable desktop experience features" was discovered buried away in Android 16 Beta 3's developer settings, allowing you to customize how Android's desktop mode operates.

Unfortunately, the functionality, while available, was not functioning in its initial state. However, according to renowned Android expert Mishaal Rahman in a piece for Android Authority, the fledgling experience has now been successfully enabled, providing an early view of what Google's future DeX rival would look like when powered by a Pixel tablet.

For what it's worth, Android's desktop mode is still a work in progress, so what you see today may not be the final result. However, the present implementation is certainly more sophisticated than the standard barebones interface that appears when you connect a Pixel tablet to an external display, replete with a taskbar, a status bar, and a windowing experience that Pixel Tablet users will recognize.

The addition of the taskbar allows users to quickly access pinned and frequently used programs without having to open the app drawer, and the addition of the status bar allows users to check the time, their device's battery, network connection, alerts, and other information.

Desktop Mode's app drawer takes up the whole screen, as opposed to the conventional desktop interface app drawer, which takes up around 3/4 of the screen. The app drawer's search box now serves as a universal search function, letting you to look for not only programs, but also web, settings, contacts, the web, and more. It also highlights Google Lens and microphone symbols, which are identical to the Pixel launcher's iconography.

Android's desktop mode, like Samsung DeX and other desktop operating systems, allows users to multitask with numerous open programs that can be snapped in place, resized, and moved about as needed. Other programs, such as Chrome and Google Keep, will allow users to drag and drop material across windows.

According to Rahman, development on Android's desktop mode is not yet complete, and consumers should anticipate it to be released with Android 16. There's a chance Google will include it in a future build, possibly a quarterly release. If that happens, the entire desktop mode capability will most likely be concealed behind developer choices. Alternatively, Google might opt to improve the experience and deliver it with next year's Android 17.

Google might possibly opt to tease the eventual mode during its future I/O or Android Show, but we won't hold our breath.

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