Android’s new desktop mode is cool, but it still needs these 5 things
Android’s new desktop mode is cool, but it still needs these 5 things
https://www.howtogeek.com/android-desktop-mode-is-cool-but-it-still-needs-these-things/
Publish Date: 2026-02-19 14:30:00
Source Domain: www.howtogeek.com
For as long as Android phones have existed, people have dreamed of using them as the brains inside a desktop computing setup. Samsung accomplished this nearly a decade ago, but the rest of the Android world has been left out. Android 17 is finally changing that with a new desktop mode, and I tried it out.
Google has been working on bringing desktop mode to non-Samsung Android phones for a while already. If you have a Pixel phone running Android 16, you can enable some developer settings to try it. However, in Android 17 beta 1, you don’t have to do anything special, and it’s a bit further along. I tested it on a Pixel 9 with a DisplayPort to USB-C cable.
I’m fully aware that desktop mode is still a work in progress, but there are a few things in particular that I’m hoping to see get added or ironed out before the final release.
Better “desktop mode” for mobile browsers
Firefox for Android in desktop mode.Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Chromebooks became popular because of how most people use computers. There’s no need for a high-powered machine if you spend most of your time in the browser. An Android phone with desktop mode could be perfect for that same purpose, but I’ve found the browser experience lacking.
Google is in the process of fixing this with Chrome (it has been for a long time already), but it still doesn’t feel like a “desktop” browser. There are tabs across the top and a few…
