Google will soon let you test Android 16's new Desktop Mode on your phone
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR Google officially announced its new desktop mode for Android phones, bringing a PC-like experience to external displays.
Built with Samsung on the DeX foundation, it offers enhanced desktop windowing and will be testable in an Android 16 quarterly beta.
This mode enables freeform app windows, independent display operation, and the ability to extend sessions across multiple screens.
At this week's Google I/O developer conference, Google finally confirmed some details of its long-awaited desktop mode feature for Android phones. The company not only confirmed that it's building a new desktop mode experience for phones connected to external displays but that this experience will be available for testing soon in an upcoming Android 16 quarterly beta.
Earlier this month, Android Authority revealed that Google is developing its own DeX-like desktop mode experience for Android. This feature offers an intuitive, desktop-like interface on external displays, complete with a taskbar for launching pinned or recent apps in freeform windows. It builds upon the desktop windowing foundations that Google developed for tablets in the first quarterly release of Android 15, but it adds extra options to account for the fact that these windowing features are now shown on an external rather than an internal display.
During the Developer Keynote at Google I/O 2025, Google revealed that Android 16's new desktop mode is built on the foundation of Samsung DeX.
'We've been collaborating with Samsung, building on the foundation of Samsung Dex, to bring enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16, for more powerful productivity workflows.' – Florina Muntenescu, Developer Relations Manager at Google
Google also confirmed that it is bringing several enhancements to how Android handles external displays. The company says that Android 16 adds 'foundational platform support for connected displays,' likely referring to the PC-like external display tools we discovered back in March.
'In Android 16, we've been adding foundational platform support for connected displays that will be available in AOSP in the coming months in developer preview.' – Alex Vanyo, Developer Relations Engineer at Google
Finally, Google confirmed that these improvements will be available soon for testing. During the 'unlock user productivity with desktop windowing and stylus support' talk at Google I/O, Francesco Romano, a Developer Relations Engineer at Google, said that Android's new desktop windowing features will be available as a developer preview for phones connected to external displays in upcoming beta releases of Android 16 QPR1. Furthermore, Android's enhanced support for external monitors is also coming soon as a developer preview in the Android beta program.
During the talk, the developer also shared some additional details of how Android 16's new desktop mode will work. For instance, the developer revealed that the minimum window size is 386 x 352 dp, that apps can create custom headers, and that when desktop windowing-enabled devices like tablets are connected to an external monitor, the desktop session will be extended across both displays.
On all devices that support the new desktop windowing mode, the internal and external displays operate independently, with apps being specific to the display on which they're running. Windows, content, and the mouse cursor can move freely between the two displays.
Android's improved desktop windowing capabilities for phones and enhanced support for external monitors aren't available in the latest Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 release. We don't know if they'll be available in the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 release, but it's certainly possible. We don't anticipate there being many changes between what we revealed earlier and what will go live in the upcoming releases, but if we spot any differences, we'll let you know.
Are you excited to try out Android's new desktop mode for phones? Let us know in the comments below!
Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at
Email our staff at news@androidauthority.com . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
YC partners say AI founders are closing huge deals fast by taking a page out of Palantir's early playbook
AI founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Y Combinator partners. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients. Founders have closed "six, seven seven-figure deals" by being forward-deployed engineers, said a YC partner. Some AI founders are landing big enterprise deals by doing something old-school: showing up, writing code, and building the perfect demo — fast. YC partners say this strategy is taking off, and it's straight out of Palantir's early playbook. Startup founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Garry Tan, YC's CEO, on an episode of the "Y Combinator" podcast published Friday. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients to fine-tune the product on-site. Tan, who was Palantir's 10th employee, said the defense tech company's edge came from recognizing that many government agencies and Fortune 500 companies lacked deep technical expertise in the room. Palantir bridged that gap by embedding technically savvy engineers during sales and implementation. Much of Palantir's success comes from its business with the US government. The Department of Defense is its biggest customer, making up 41% of its fourth-quarter revenue. Startup founders need to be "technical," "great product people," and even "ethnographers" and "designers," said Tan, who worked at Palantir from 2005 to 2007." "You want the person on the second meeting to see the demo you put together based on the stuff you heard, and you want them to say, 'Wow, I've never seen anything like that.' And take my money," he added. This hands-on approach is already delivering big results. YC partner Diana Hu said she and her team have seen founders close "six, seven seven-figure deals" with large enterprises by being forward-deployed engineers. Sometimes, she said, a pair of founders wins a deal by walking into a boardroom, gathering context, and coming back the next day with a tailored AI demo. Once the deal is closed, some of these founders go on-site to work closely with customer support teams, continuously fine-tuning the software or language model to improve performance, said YC partner Harj Taggar. Tan said this model gives AI startups a chance to outmaneuver giants like Salesforce, Oracle, and Booz Allen. "You have big fancy salespeople with big strong handshakes, and it's like, how does a really good engineer with a weak handshake go in there and beat them?" Tan said. "It's actually you show them something that they've never seen before, and like, make them feel super heard." Y Combinator did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
Microsoft's Bad News—500 Million Windows Users Must Now Decide
Surprising bad news suddenly hits Microsoft. A new warning has been issued for Windows users, whose PCs have been described as 'magnets for security threats,' just as new data gives Microsoft a surprising bad news story ahead of the critical next few months. You can expect many more such warnings as 500-million Windows users face an increasingly urgent decision. The latest advice comes courtesy of PC maker Asus, pointing out that 'if you're still using Windows 10 or, dare we say it, something even older — your computer's days of regular updates and support are numbered.' As for upgrades, 'what makes Windows 11 different?," Asus says. "one word: Copilot," as it pushes the latest range of AI PCs. Clearly, you don't need to decide on a premium Copilot PC to benefit from Windows 11's future-proofing, ensuring your PC receives critical security updates after Windows 10's demise in October. AI PCs remain a niche, despite projections they will eventually dominate new PC sales. Right now, there's a more fundamental decision to make. Windows 10 versus Windows 11 globally. The latest Windows market data presents a painfully bleak picture with just over five months to run until free Windows 10 security updates end for all users. Paid extensions are available, but they're expensive for enterprises and restricted to just 12-months for home users who also must pay. Microsoft is pushing free upgrades not paid extensions. A month ago, it seemed Windows 11 had turned the tide against Windows 10. The newer OS already outanks its older sibling in the U.S. but not globally. Come the end of April, though, Windows 11 was within 10% of Windows 11 for the first time. 'Just over half (53%) of all users are still on Windows 10, but that's inching down month by month.' Not any more, it seems. While more directional than exact, Statcounter's data at the end of May shows a slight month-over-month increase for Windows 10, while Windows 11 dips. This after four months of steady progress the other way. Windows 10 is holding stubbornly above 50% while Windows 11 remains 10% behind. Windows 10 versus Windows 11 in U.S. This means there are around 750 million users are yet to upgrade to Windows 11, of which at least 240 million don't have an eligible PC. That still leaves around 500 million users who can take up Microsoft's offer for a free Windows 11 upgrade but have not. Even in the U.S., where Windows 11 has overtaken Windows 10, May's data suggests Windows 10 has grown its share from 41% in April to more than 43%, while Windows 11 drops a more worrying 3.5%, from 56.5% down to below 53%. All this makes June's data critical. Come the end of this month, there will be just three months until Windows 10 is shuttered. If Microsoft is to avoid a cybersecurity nightmare hitting mid-October, something need to change. For all those Windows 10 users with PCs eligible for a free upgrade, do not run out of time.
TechCrunch
an hour ago
- TechCrunch
For the love of God, stop calling your AI a co-worker
Generative AI comes in many forms. Increasingly, though, it's marketed the same way: with human names and personas that make it feel less like code and more like a co-worker. A growing number of startups are anthropomorphizing AI to build trust fast — and soften its threat to human jobs. It's dehumanizing, and it's accelerating. I get why this framing took off. In today's upside-down economy, where every hire feels like a risk, enterprise startups — many emerging from the famed accelerator Y Combinator — are pitching AI not as software but as staff. They're selling replacements. AI assistants. AI coders. AI employees. The language is deliberately designed to appeal to overwhelmed hiring managers. Some don't even bother with subtlety. Atlog, for instance, recently introduced an 'AI employee for furniture stores' that handles everything from payments to marketing. One good manager, it gloats, can now run 20 stores at once. The implication: you don't need to hire more people — just let the system scale for you. (What happens to the 19 managers it replaces is left unsaid.) Consumer-facing startups are leaning into similar tactics. Anthropic named its platform 'Claude' because it's a warm, trustworthy-sounding companion for a faceless, disembodied neural net. It's a tactic straight out of the fintech playbook where apps like Dave, Albert, and Charlie masked their transactional motives with approachable names. When handling money, it feels better to trust a 'friend.' The same logic has crept into AI. Would you rather share sensitive data with a machine learning model or your bestie Claude, who remembers you, greets you warmly, and almost never threatens you? (To OpenAI's credit, it still tells you you're chatting with a 'generative pre-trained transformer.') But we're reaching a tipping point. I'm genuinely excited about generative AI. Still, every new 'AI employee' has begun to feel more dehumanizing. Every new 'Devin' makes me wonder when the actual Devins of the world will push back on being abstracted into job-displacing bots. Generative AI is no longer just a curiosity. Its reach is expanding, even if the impacts remain unclear. In mid-May, 1.9 million unemployed Americans were receiving continued jobless benefits — the highest since 2021. Many of those were laid-off tech workers. The signals are piling up. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Some of us still remember 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL, the onboard computer, begins as a calm, helpful assistant before turning completely homicidal and cutting off the crew's life support. It's science fiction, but it hit a nerve for a reason. Last week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs in the next one to five years, pushing unemployment as high as 20%. 'Most [of these workers are] unaware that this is about to happen,' he told Axios. 'It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it.' You could argue that's not comparable to cutting off someone's oxygen, but the metaphor isn't that far off. Automating more people out of paychecks will have consequences, and when the layoffs increase, the branding of AI as a 'colleague' is going to look less clever and more callous. The shift toward generative AI is happening regardless of how it's packaged. But companies have a choice in how they describe these tools. IBM never called its mainframes 'digital co-workers.' PCs weren't 'software assistants'; they were workstations and productivity tools. Language still matters. Tools should empower. But more and more companies are marketing something else entirely, and that feels like a mistake. We don't need more AI 'employees.' We need software that extends the potential of actual humans, making them more productive, creative, and competitive. So please stop talking about fake workers. Just show us the tools that help great managers run complex businesses. That's all anyone is really asking for.
