I replaced my laptop with an Android tablet and found the precise moment you still need a real PC

Before Google introduced native Desktop Mode on Android, I spent considerable time using Samsung DeX on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE.

I primarily reached for the tablet when I wanted to work from the couch or coffee table, avoiding the burden of transporting a bulky, overheating Windows laptop from one corner to another.

I mostly use it for word processing, web browsing, and streaming. It offers the expansive screen real estate that my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL phone simply lacks.

Plus, DeX provides a genuine multitasking experience with a PC-like interface and rich accessory support.

I appreciate how seamlessly built-in DeX supports the exact same wireless keyboard and mouse I use with my laptop.

They offer comparable functionality when paired with my Samsung tablet, making the transition feel incredibly natural.

I am planning to upgrade to the Galaxy Tab S12 when it arrives so that I can use wireless DeX and connect to a monitor effortlessly.

While I feel productive managing light-to-moderate tasks on my Galaxy Tab, lingering bottlenecks in DeX keep driving me back to my laptop.

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By  Will Sattelberg

DeX is miles ahead of Desktop Mode

But it's not a perfect productivity tool

Compared to Desktop Mode on the Google Pixel Tablet and Pixel smartphones, DeX on my Galaxy Tab S10 FE feels significantly more polished.

It features a superior layout that grants quicker access to the quick settings and notifications panels.

Its desktop management and app windowing are also far more fluid, making the overall experience feel less like an experiment and more like a tool.

I quickly grew accustomed to the snappy window management, whether snapping apps side by side or instantly minimizing them.

For Galaxy phones and higher-end tablets, DeX provides tools to manage display settings independently.

You can set a different wallpaper and screen timeout for your connected monitor while keeping your device's personal settings intact.

The ability to use your phone screen as a trackpad is another neat trick, proving incredibly handy when you leave your mouse behind.

While I appreciate these clever touches, a major roadblock remains: Not all apps are optimized for a desktop user interface.

Some apps are not ready for the desktop UI

And there is a lot of wasted screen real estate

Many applications remain stubbornly stuck in their mobile layouts, wasting the massive advantage of a larger screen.

Search bars in apps like eBay, Shopee, and Temu simply look like inflated versions of their mobile counterparts.

Even worse, Google Photos appears strangely cramped compared to the web version, which I inevitably end up using instead.

It is not just about layout aesthetics, though. Some apps, like TCL Home, fundamentally fail to support proper windowing.

It locks into a portrait ratio even if you force desktop mode, displaying text that is comically enlarged.

I cannot imagine how frustrating this looks on 12-inch or 14-inch devices like the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra.

Although mouse pointers and keyboard shortcuts work flawlessly in most scenarios, the app's wonky UI more often made me press the wrong buttons.

Sometimes touch inputs fail entirely because buttons shift out of place when the window is stretched.

Certain web pages also default to a straight-up mobile view, leaving massive, wasted gutters of empty space on the sides.

In the Facebook app, feed images stretch edge-to-edge, severely limiting how much content you can view at once. This sharply contrasts with the web version of Facebook, which automatically adapts to a proper desktop layout.

I hope developers introduce a built-in app toggle that forces a true desktop view, drastically reducing this daily friction.

This non-uniform layout requires constant mental adjustment to different shortcuts and button placements between my phone and DeX.

However, the blame does not fall entirely on Samsung or Google. Developers simply need to optimize their services for Android desktops.

Even with these flaws, they are not deal-breakers if you are buying your next Samsung tablet specifically for DeX.

We will likely see developers iron out these mobile-to-desktop scaling issues in the near future.

Windowing and desktop management need more refinements

Moving apps will significantly improve my productivity

Samsung clearly holds an advantage over native Desktop Mode, having refined DeX for several years.

It offers vital features such as customization, app pinning, and external monitor management that Android's version sorely lacks.

However, one area where the South Korean tech giant still falls short is flexible desktop workspace management.

Sure, I can customize up to four desktop workspaces and easily access them from the standard mode. But it lacks the seamless flexibility of my Windows PC for dragging and moving active apps.

While you can close individual apps in each desktop, you cannot simply drag an app from one desktop directly into another.

Instead, you have to navigate to the empty desktop and launch the app entirely from scratch via the app menu.

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It would be a massive productivity boost if Samsung introduced an intuitive way to reposition active windows between workspaces.

This clunky movement is equally true for Android Desktop Mode on my Pixel, which often feels even more restrictive.

Additionally, it is surprisingly challenging to open a new Chrome tab in a separate window without disrupting the existing one.

To circumvent this, I create a new tab, minimize the window, switch desktops, and relaunch Chrome from the taskbar.

A simple right-click action to open a fresh instance of Chrome without tangling up your current tabs would be a lifesaver.

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By  Jade Bryan Jardinico

Samsung DeX almost made me put my laptop in the drawer

And Google needs to follow Samsung's lead in the desktop experience

To be completely fair, Samsung's implementation of DeX remains miles ahead of Google's current Desktop Mode.

It certainly has rough edges to smooth out, specifically regarding developer support for dynamic scaling and multi-desktop fluidity.

Yet, despite these gripes, DeX remains a highly reliable tool for getting serious work done in a PC-like environment.

If not for these specific bottlenecks, I would confidently call it a solid platform capable of entirely replacing my laptop.

On the contrary, Android Desktop Mode remains far from polished, though it clearly harbors the exact same potential as DeX. Aluminium OS might do better than Desktop Mode, but it's too early to call.

If Google pays close attention to Samsung's success and directly integrates that usability with Android's desktop experience, we might finally get our wish.

This could perfectly set the stage for a bridge to make Android a genuine PC alternative.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE

$470 $550 Save $80
Storage
128GB/256GB
Operating System
Android 15
Battery
8,000mAh
Ports
USB-C
Display type
LCD, 90Hz

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is the smaller and cheaper model of the tablet duo. It's now more affordable, thanks to the current reduction.

$470 at Samsung $470 at Amazon
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