Among the many new updates and features coming with the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus is a revamped take on DeX, Samsung’s desktop-like software that is powered by the phone. While prior versions of DeX required you to plug the phone into a monitor and use a mouse and keyboard paired to it, the new version lets you plug a Note 10 into a Windows or Mac computer and brings up a window with all of your phone’s apps that is accessible from your desktop or laptop computer.
Not only can you remotely control your phone and use the apps installed on it without ever taking your hands off of your computer’s keyboard, but you can also drag and drop files from your desktop to your phone and vice versa.
If you’re a fan of the way DeX works with just a monitor, fret not, as the Note 10 should still support the traditional DeX interface when used with just a display, mouse, and keyboard. To make that work, you just need a USB-C to HDMI cable, and you’re good to go.
Additionally, Samsung has partnered with Microsoft to preload the Your Phone app on the device, which lets you send SMS messages and wirelessly transfer image files between a paired phone and Windows PC. It also put a toggle for connecting and disconnecting Your Phone in the phone’s quick actions tray.
DeX has become Samsung’s answer for the convergence of various devices, as it allows you to have a desktop-like interface with just a phone or tablet, blending what you get on an iPad with what a Windows 10 tablet offers. But earlier takes were more interesting in theory than in practice, as it’s typically easier to just use a laptop than it is to find a display, mouse, and keyboard to hook up to your phone.
You can access DeX with most recent Samsung devices, including the just-announced Galaxy Tab S6, which has a special DeX display mode when a keyboard is attached. Frustratingly, the Galaxy S10 will not support the new DeX features with Windows and Mac computers, despite having the same basic set of hardware specifications as the Note 10.
We’ll have to see how well this new spin on DeX performs once we get a chance to test and review the Note 10 line. But it’s easy to say it’s one of the most interesting things Samsung has announced today.
Comments
Next up, if Dex works over bluetooth on an iPad I am all for it.
By InfinityPoolLover on 08.07.19 4:09pm
Can you explain why you want this?
By Winklemeier on 08.07.19 4:13pm
Using paid Android apps on iPad?
By InfinityPoolLover on 08.07.19 4:22pm
I’m skeptical if using an Android phone app streamed via Bluetooth and upscaled on an iPad would be all that much fun. I’d love to try it though.
By Winklemeier on 08.07.19 8:07pm
I’d be surprised if Dex would ever work over Bluetooth. That’s just too much information for that sort of connection. WiFi and USB will probably be the most appropriate connectivity options for this sort of functionality.
By vonbaronhans on 08.07.19 5:07pm
Yes, you would use WiFi Direct but the initial connection set-up could be with Bluetooth.
By NofanBoy on 08.08.19 10:15am
Yeah, for sure.
By vonbaronhans on 08.08.19 5:28pm
I don’t think bluetooth have bandwidth for that.
By Kaggy on 08.08.19 4:08am
Would this mean, I can finally use full Office mobile apps installed on my phone, with keyboard on my laptop? Isn’t this suicidal for MS?
By InfinityPoolLover on 08.07.19 4:20pm
Not at all. You have to remember that MS has shifted to being a services company first now…they can just pitch this as giving folks more ways to access Office and make it a 365 marketing angle.
By kmac1914 on 08.07.19 4:30pm
I guess it depends on what you mean by "full Office mobile apps".
Typically, the mobile versions are limited compared to the full-fledged x86 version of the apps, although that functionality gap is shrinking year over year, and especially so for basic use cases.
But like kmac1914 says, this is just another vector for MS to get people to subscribe to Office 365.
By vonbaronhans on 08.07.19 5:10pm
You have to pay to use Office on devices with screen sizes larger than 10 inches.
By rick2121 on 08.07.19 5:15pm
That’s the point – you’re technically not using it on your laptop, but on your phone! But through this connection, you are. For free.
By splus on 08.08.19 1:22am
You will using a very limited version of Office. First, is a mobile app, which may be adapted to desktop use via Dex but have some limitations compared to PC/Mac versions. Second, if you are not a 365 subscriber there are further limitations.
Not that different of being able to use office.com for free.
So this is a very fringe case with severe limitations that will hardly make a dent in 365 subscription business. And Microsoft can probably enforce the 10" rule (for the connected screen) at any moment. I think I could at first use Android Office apps in my chromebook but now I require a paid subscription lest I’m limited to just view documents
By Chipiron on 08.08.19 3:30am
Why would I want to limit my laptop to Android apps when I could be using MacOS or Windows? This seems like a downgrade, not an upgrade.
By zduboss on 08.07.19 4:34pm
This isn’t about limiting your PC experience, it’s about allowing you to access your phone on your laptop/PC. So if you have particular workflows or notifications coming in over your phone, you can access those from your laptop easily and quickly (in theory, anyway).
By vonbaronhans on 08.07.19 5:18pm
Yup. I think you can sorta do this between an iPhone and a Mac now. Dell also had an app where you can do this as well on newer laptops. It’ll be interesting to try Samsung’s implementation.
By Winklemeier on 08.07.19 8:10pm
Yeah, pretty much exactly this. The Apple version of this is another one of those features that keeps people locked into that ecosystem. Windows is looking to do something similar with Android, and hopefully with even more stability with Samsung in terms of feature roadmap and whatnot.
By vonbaronhans on 08.08.19 5:31pm
I get your point, but I fail to think of an scenario where that would be convenient.
I can only think of messaging from your phone, but you can now send messages from windows if you have an Android phone. WhatsApp, Telegram and Slack, to name some, also allow that. As for mail, most corporate and personal mails have a web interface.
By Chipiron on 08.08.19 3:38am
There are a few use case scenarios I can think of off the top of my head:
The important thing to keep in mind is that smartphones are (almost) always internet-connected, but the vast majority of laptops are still Wi-Fi only. Given that carriers charge extra for tethering, most people don’t have that functionality (so no web apps on the go). Simply sharing your info/screen on your laptop is a way to get around those limitations and perhaps get even more functionality out of both devices.
By vonbaronhans on 08.08.19 5:40pm
Cause there are some mobile apps that actually works better than desktop counterparts.
As well as mobile apps that doesn’t exist in desktops.
Some mobile apps are more efficient than desktop as well.
By Kaggy on 08.08.19 4:21am
Is there any chance for it to land on Note 9 later sometime? It looks more like a software feature than hardware but then Samsung wants to sell more Note 10, so there is incentive there.. More like a case of its possible but not probable..
I would have gone for Note 10 because of only this feature, if only they had included a headphone jack..
By wholesoul on 08.07.19 5:52pm
This sounds neat – but also of limited real-world use. I occasionally answer texts on my MacBook, that can be really useful especially if I need to transfer say a picture or a pdf to my laptop. I also have Continuity, where I am open app from the phone appears in my laptop dock – but I have never found a use for it. This Dex seems the same. Neat, but no real usefulness…
By Mha71 on 08.07.19 5:53pm
This is the best thing that could have happened to Microsoft Surface device owners in a long time. Finally they can make use of the tablet part of their Surface device, with the apps they always wanted. But hope the interface is appropriate and it provides a full screen mode..
By wholesoul on 08.07.19 6:00pm
I wouldn’t hold my breath for a smooth touch implementation
By Chipiron on 08.08.19 3:39am