New functionalities are emerging from Android Q beta, presented yesterday. One of the most promising and surprising is the desktop mode. This will allow connect our smartphones with an external screen and as a consequence, being able to have an experience more similar to using a computer. We show you what it looks like!
A few hours after the official launch of the trial version of Android Q for Pixel phones, a Twitter user discovers and reveals through the social network a new function expected by many: desktop mode.
Android Q Desktop Mode! pic.twitter.com/ti4VGGtS7c
- Michael Young (@ Shad0wKn1ght93) March 13th 2019
Although it is still in a fairly initial phase, it opens the door to a future in which we will be able to use our phones as we use them. desktop computers. Thus, connecting them to a monitor, the work possibilities are multiplied considerably.
This is what desktop mode looks like
The visual result of this new function leaves us a horizontal home screen like the one we show below. As you can see, desktop mode has a status bar at the top, the application button at the bottom and to the left, a configuration menu. This, at the moment only gives us two options: add Shortcuts of the applications on this desktop and customize background.
This new function could allow us to use several applications and arrange them in a multi-window format, giving us a lot of comfort to work simultaneously in different apps.
Competition with Samsung and Huawei
The idea of ​​a desktop mode does not take us by surprise. Google has been flirting with this possibility for a long time and some manufacturers had already anticipated this novelty. With the launch of the Samsung Dex accessory, its users were given the possibility to connect their phone to a screen, to use it as if it were a computer, with their keyboard and mouse. The Chinese giant Huawei also created its PC mode last year, allowing the same to some of its most prominent phones.
Finally, the launch of desktop mode for Android 10 means that we are getting closer and closer to the desired convergence between smartphones and PCs, taking the technology that we all carry in our pockets to a further level.
How to activate it (option for developers)
According to the data provided by XDA, if you own the emulator Android Studio, it will not be very difficult to activate it. You will need to run the following instructions from the developer settings and connect the phone to an external display. In Google Mobile Services (GMS) is the following command:
adb shell am start -n "com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher / com.android.launcher3.SecondaryDisplayLauncher"
If you don't have GMS installed, they will be the following:
adb shell am start -n "com.android.launcher3 / com.android.launcher3.SecondaryDisplayLauncher"