How I turned my Pixel phone into a genuinely productive desktop computer – for free

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Pixel 8 and newer phones now have access to Desktop Mode.
• Android Desktop Mode turns your phone into a full-blown desktop experience.
• You’ll need an external monitor, a USB mouse, and a keyboard.

More than a decade ago, Canonical was working on what it called “desktop convergence.” The idea was to combine a mobile device with a desktop device to create something far more useful.

Back then, it was a quaint idea with amazing possibilities. Now, however, it has even more compelling implications.

According to Pew Research, 98% of Americans own a smartphone. That same report concludes that at least 16% of Americans are “smartphone-only” users. In other words, one in six Americans owns neither a desktop nor a laptop computer and depends solely on their phone for online activity, productivity, and entertainment.

Also: The latest Pixel Drop arrives with 8 useful upgrades for your Android phone – what’s new

That’s an important figure. And as someone who’s attempted — as an experiment — to do without a desktop computer, I find it the smartphone-only approach to be about as productive as using a rock to cut butter. I depend on my desktops and laptops. For one, my mobile typing skills are abysmal. Also, I depend on working with multiple apps at the same time, and no matter how hard smartphones try, they’re not very good at multitasking.

So, when Canonical announced its plan to enable connecting a phone to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, essentially turning it into a desktop, I was all for it.

Unfortunately, Canonical failed miserably at convergence. The company simply couldn’t deliver, and soon after dropped the Unity interface altogether.  

Fast forward to Samsung and DeX, another take on mobile/desktop convergence. Samsung had a great idea, and boy, did it deliver. You get a full-blown desktop mode that is seamless and easy to use.  The Samsung devices that support DeX include:

• Samsung Galaxy S phones: Galaxy S8, S9, S10, S20, S21, S22, S23 and S24 series
• Samsung Galaxy Note phones: Galaxy Note 8, Note 9, Note 10, and Note 20 series
• Samsung foldables: Galaxy Z Fold, Fold 2, Fold 3, Fold 4, Fold 5, and Fold 6
• Samsung Galaxy tablets: Galaxy Tab S4, S6, S7, S8, and S9 series
• Samsung Galaxy A-series phones: Galaxy A90 5G

But what about Pixel phone users?

If you still long for desktop convergence and you own a Pixel 8 phone or newer, you’re in luck; the latest Pixel drop brings a desktop mode to Android — and it is very, very good. 

What is Android Desktop mode?

Android Desktop Mode is simple: Connect your Pixel 8 or newer phone to an external monitor, pair it with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and you essentially have a desktop computer. Yes, it’s still Android, but it’s Android in desktop mode.

Once you’ve connected your phone to the external monitor and paired your phone with a mouse and keyboard, you can use Android as if it were a true desktop operating system. You can open and work with multiple apps at once and tile app windows for an even more efficient experience. After making the connection, I found Android to be even more useful; it’s even set up like a traditional desktop, with a panel at the bottom, a start menu (which opens the App Drawer), and the usual pull-down Notification Shade.

Also: The latest Pixel Drop arrives with 8 useful upgrades for your Android phone – what’s new

If you’re running Android 16 on a Pixel 8 or newer, there’s nothing you have to do to enable the feature, other than have a monitor that can be connected via USB-C (more on that in a bit). Unless your display is a touch screen, you’ll also need a Bluetooth mouse. Although you can type with the Android virtual keyboard, you’ll really want a Bluetooth keyboard as well, otherwise you’ll miss out on the full-blown desktop experience.

How Desktop Mode works

First: The USB-C cable needs to support high-speed data transfer, such as this Silkland cable from Amazon. You can use any Bluetooth mouse or keyboard.

Also: How Google turns Android into a desktop OS in 5 steps

When you connect your Pixel phone to your external monitor, a pop-up appears on your phone asking if you want to use it in Desktop or Mirror mode.

Tap Desktop, and you’ll see the new Desktop Mode on your external monitor. Note: You can also tap “Don’t ask me again” to set this as the default.

Once you’ve done that, you can start using Android in this new mode. Surprisingly, Desktop Mode shows no signs of lag and performs as well as your phone. My Pixel 9 Pro ran like a champ in desktop mode and impressed me enough that I would consider it a viable option for some daily use. No, I won’t be editing professional videos with my phone, nor will I be installing server software on it. Other than that, I can’t imagine that there are many limitations to be placed on this mode.

A few things to keep in mind:

• You must have a high-speed USB cable.
• Your phone’s wallpaper will not be displayed in Desktop Mode, but you can still set one. Once you disconnect your phone, you’ll have to reset that wallpaper when you reconnect.
• You’ll want a monitor with an external power source, as your phone most likely won’t power it.
• Any apps you have open on your phone will appear in Desktop Mode in separate windows, so you can use them side-by-side.
• You no longer have to enable Desktop Mode in Developer Options — it just works out of the box.

Also: This absurdly simple trick turns off AI in your Google Search results

I promise that you’ll be impressed with Android Desktop Mode. In fact, I’d venture to predict that this new option might actually increase the percentage of users without a desktop or laptop.