I’ve always been interested in the idea of ​​convergence: having my phone turn into a PC when I need it. I was able to do this with my previous Huawei P40 Pro+ and its desktop mode, and Samsung Galaxy users have been able to do this for years thanks to Samsung DeX technology, but Google never stopped offering this option on Android. That could change.

Tablets that look (somewhat) like PCsAs The Verge notes, Google is testing a new feature for Android tablets that will allow you to resize and rearrange windows of different apps. This is a traditional feature of desktop environments on Windows, macOS, or Linux, but has never been adopted on mobile operating systems.

For certain applications onlyThe ability to rearrange and resize windows is available as a developer preview in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 for Google Pixel tablets. As such, it’s an option limited to a very limited sector of the market, but it can also only be enabled in apps like Google Keep that support this option, allowing you to open two instances and use them face to face as if they were two browser windows, for example.

Very Scene Manager-like. In 2022, Apple released iPadOS 16 and introduced the Stage Manager, a window manager that allows up to 8 applications to be combined at the same time. This movement seems to be going in this direction and is not only conquering tablets, but also folding phones, such as the striking new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which can also take advantage of this capacity with its 8-inch unfolded screen.

What about your DeX competitor, Google? But this option makes us think again about the theoretical “official” Android rival of the well-known Samsung DeX, which allows you to use your mobile phone like a PC. The desktop environment offered by Samsung mobile phones that offer this option is perfectly functional and all you have to do to work with your applications in this unique and versatile desktop mode is to connect your mobile phone to a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Google now allows us to connect our mobile phone to TV. The Google Pixel 9 was recently launched and allows you to connect it to a monitor or cable TV via its USB-C connector. The Pixel 8/Pro/8a also offers this feature thanks to its June 2024 update. Unfortunately, this option was nothing more than that, making the external display a mirror of what we see on our screen. The Android interface is not optimized for this option, so everything looks very large on the TV or monitor, while ideally the mobile device should detect this connection and re-adjust the resolution or even offer options similar to those offered by DeX.

There is hope. Google is expected to introduce a desktop mode for Android at some point. The new feature in the Android beta regarding rearranging windows confirms this, but it is not clear whether the improvement will be focused specifically on tablets and foldables. We will see if the rumors pan out and if “Google DeX” will come to all types of Android devices.

At Xataka | Welcome, convergence: finally your smartphone is also your PC