Android Q Brings Support For A Native Desktop Mode

Google released the developer preview of Android Q yesterday ahead of formally unveiling the latest iteration of its mobile operating system later this year. The developer preview has revealed some of the new features that Google has been working on. A new report points out that Android Q brings support for a native desktop mode.

This won’t be the first time that a software solution has been created to provide a workstation-like experience powered by an Android device. Samsung’s DeX is perhaps the most recent example and the company even did away with the requirement to use a dock for the experience. You can hook up Samsung’s latest flagships directly to a display through the USB-C port and use DeX.

It does have its limitations, though. Apps have to be optimized for the DeX experience and majority of them available on the Play Store are not, so users just run windowed Android apps instead. With Android Q, Google will finally add native support for a desktop mode to its operating system.

This new feature can be accessed in the Developer Options menu on the preview build. Once it’s enabled, Android will display apps in free-form windows on an external monitor but will continue to show the navigation buttons at the bottom and the status bar at the top. Given that it’s still early days for Android Q, the entire look and feel of this native desktop mode could change down the line.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: android q, Google