Google Pixel 8 could match Samsung’s productivity cuts with this underrated feature

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The best Samsung phones come with DeX mode, an underrated and useful feature that turns your phone into a mini PC as long as you have access to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Samsung isn’t the first company to dabble with such a mode, as several other Android makers have also been working on something similar. Google itself has been working on a hidden desktop mode in Android for years, and with the upcoming Pixel 8 series, the feature may finally become official.

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The latest leak surrounding Google’s 2023 flagship Pixel phones indicates support for USB DisplayPort Alternate Mode. This will allow you to connect the Pixel 8 or its Pro sibling to an external monitor via USB-C to stream video.

Android Authority’s internal source at Google was unable to provide further details on how the company plans to use DisplayPort support. But based on some code digging, the publication speculates that Google could use the feature to offer desktop mode on the Pixel 8 series.

Google made some improvements to Android’s hidden desktop mode with Android 13 QPR1 and has been noted to make more changes in Android 14. Along with hardware support, the company may finally be making the feature official with its upcoming Pixels.

With desktop mode, instead of mirroring the contents of your home screen, your phone will run a version of Android closest to what your PC desktop looks like, complete with a taskbar at the bottom. In a pinch, this could be a great alternative to your laptop for light web browsing and office work, as long as you have access to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Whether Google will make desktop mode official with the Pixel 8 series and Android 14 will also depend on the thermal characteristics of the Tensor G3. The feature is resource intensive, and Tensor chips are notorious for their poor power efficiency and overheating issues. So, there’s always the possibility that Google decides not to use the Pixel 8’s DisplayPort Alternate Mode to its full potential.

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