Google’s latest beta build of Android 16 features an early version of its new desktop mode, allowing users to transform their smartphones into pocket PCs with a monitor connection. This innovative feature, dubbed “Desktop Mode,” uses the phone as a laptop or desktop computer, providing a PC-like interface and interface on external displays.
Android’s next major update could let users plug in their smartphones and use them like laptops or computers without needing any additional hardware. The new feature was discovered by Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman, who shared his experience with a USB-C compatible monitor and the latest Android 16 beta. The result is an interface that resembles Samsung’s DeX feature, providing features such as a status bar on top, a taskbar at the bottom, and windowed app modes similar to those found on Android tablets.
This desktop mode build-up provides users with new capabilities such as snapping windows to the left and right of the screen, and a Windows-style app drawer. Although it’s unclear if Desktop Mode will be ready for launch with Android 16, set to release this spring, it may arrive later in a quarterly update or even as part of Android 17, expected to launch in 2026.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/660509/android-desktop-mode-16-beta-demo