Using an Android Phone as a Desktop Replacement

 

Intro

Using your phone as a computer sounds like a great idea, especially considering how powerful today's flagship phones are. Problem is the experience isn't as good as using a REAL computer.

Case in point, I connected my Pixel 10 Pro XL to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Since I didn't have an available Bluetooth keyboard, and the mouse is a Logitech with a receiver, I had to buy a suitable dock to handle all the connections. 

I settled on the Plugable UD-MSTH2.

I used an HDMI cable to connect from the dock to the monitor and plugged the keyboard and the mouse's receiver into USB-A ports on the dock. I used the supplied USB-C cable to connect to my phone, and once it detected the monitor, it prompted me to enter desktop mode.

And it worked! I was able to open apps in resizable windows, but there are some real constraints in this setup:

The phone's launcher is hardcoded at only a few items

You'd think you'd be able to use the full width of the monitor to pin apps, but nope, you can't.

When the phone sleeps, the launcher disappears!

I left it alone for 20 or so minutes, and when I came back, the launcher was gone! I had to disconnect/reconnect the phone to get it back.

It doesn't tell you when you need to authenticate

I fired up my banking app, which requires authentication either via face or fingerprint, but the desktop doesn't tell you that. You have to look at the phone to see what's required.

Summary

Those are the problems I encountered in less than an hour of using my phone as a desktop replacement. It was too much, so I gave up on the dream.