Samsung Dex: using a Phone or Tablet as your main computer?

Can you use an Android Tablet as a main computing device?

Yes you can, thanks to Samsung Dex. I'll give you a brief run down as to what this largely hidden feature of Samsung devices is all about:

• What is Dex
• How to use Dex
• My setup for Dex
• The downsides of Dex

I have been using Dex for all of my home computing needs for a few months, from working from home occasionally, to editing photos, writing these blogs, tweaking my site, and anything else I may need do, which is why I want to tell you all about it. You could even be reading this on a device that has Dex and you don't know it yet!

What is Dex?

Samsung have this amazing mode build into their flagship phones and tablets called Dex, (Desktop X-perience) which is a desktop environment within Android. It gives the look and feel of a 'normal' computer experience complete with desktop, taskbar, multi and resizable windows. It makes Android truly a productive powerhouse, providing whatever you are doing is capable with android apps.

Dex running on an external monitor from a tablet

How to use Dex

Simply connect your compatible phone or tablet to an external monitor using a USB-C 3.1 cable. The cleanest setup is using a monitor with USB-C input otherwise you will need a HDMI adaptor or a hub/dock. With this setup though you'll have battery drain, so a powered USB-C hub is the way to go to keep your device charged, and with the added bonus of extra USB ports to plug in peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard (though Bluetooth devices work well) You can also connect wirelessly to compatible Samsung TVs.

With a phone, Dex mode only works on an external monitor and is activated automatically when you connect. Tablets can run it natively which is brilliant, with a keyboard case and mouse you have a capable laptop. When connecting a tablet to an external monitor, the monitor will run dex and the tablet will revert to the normal android UI, which itself has some great productivity features built in by Samsung such as multi window and gestures, providing solid dual screen capability.

A simple powered USB-C hub is all you need

My Setup for Dex

My own setup is a Galaxy Tab S9+ paired with a Dexnor keyboard. This turns it into a capable and good sized 12.2'' touch screen, fanless laptop with S-pen support. It's fantastic. I pair with a bluetooth mouse, and for when I need a second monitor I simply plug my USB-C hub into the tablet and away I go. The Dexnor keyboard holds the tablet magnetically, making it easy to remove for those times I want to kick back on the couch with the tablet. With my setup I have a laptop, desktop and tablet, all in one device with very little compromises for my own use cases. 

Galaxy Tab S9+ with Dexnor Keyboard running Dex as a laptop

The downsides of Dex

Unfortunately there are always downsides, and the ones with using Dex as a main computer will largely depend on you and what you need/want to do. 

The first one applies to any Android device in that if you need to run software that isn't available on Android, well you cant. Actually you can run Linux stuff if you are super tech savvy, but that's way above my head.

Secondly is the lack of external monitor support. You can only connect to one. You cannot rotate, you cannot move windows between screens and you cannot open the same app on both screens simultaneously - for instance you cannot have a chrome window open on the tablet screen and a chrome window open on the monitor, when you go to open that second chrome window, it will close the first. 

These are little irks that you can work around, depending on your work flow the monitor support may not be an issue. High resolution ultrawide monitors are supported, so you can split screen comfortably anyway, and of course tablet users are already dual screening. For apps on both screens it takes some adjusting, as I'm normally a chromeOS user, I'm of the habit of using the chrome browser for everything, so I've just had to adjust my workflow to do things such as use an email app rather than Gmail in chrome for workarounds. An ultrawide monitor would assist with this also, just that extra real estate to be able to open windows side by side almost nullifies that concern. 

The familar desktop experience on Dex

Final thoughts

Surprisingly Samsung does not really market this which I find rather odd. For me its a massive selling point, and if people were more aware of it they might agree (and buy more Samsung devices). I have three colleagues with the latest SXX phones that have no idea of the Dex capabilities.

As an operating system, chromeOS still wins but Dex isn't too far behind, and hopefully Google get their act together and have chromeOS running on their phones and tablets as a native desktop mode, even if its only when connected to external monitors. It really would be a game change and I would be first in the queue.