Samsung, with Galaxy Note 9, is taking another stab at DeX
There are several holy grails in the world of smartphones. The one that seems just within the reach, and yet has frustrated companies after companies, is a feature that can — when it works — make a smartphone transform into a full-fledged computer when it is connected to a big screen. Many companies have tried to create a smartphone that support this feature. Motorola tried it with Atrix and failed. Microsoft tried Continuum with Windows 10 and didn’t entirely succeed. Even Samsung’s DeX, which came in 2016, didn’t work all that convincingly. But Samsung, with Galaxy Note 9, is taking another stab at DeX. And this time it may succeed.
The DeX that the Note 9 supports is a new version of the technology. The biggest change with the new DeX is that it is a far simplified technology than the one that Samsung brought out in 2016 with the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus. Before I talk of this new DeX, let’s see how Samsung describes it.
“Galaxy Note 9 delivers a PC-like experience with Samsung DeX. Users can work on presentations, edit photos, and watch their favorite show all powered by their phone. When connected to a monitor, Galaxy Note9 can power a virtualized desktop and even serve as a fully-functional second screen. Take notes with the S Pen while watching a video, or use Galaxy Note9 as a trackpad, to right-click, drag and drop, and use multiple windows on a monitor,” the company said while introducing its latest and greatest Note.
It’s possible that a lot of this could be just talk. But even if not everything that Samsung promises with the new DeX comes true, it could be a potentially game-changing feature for the Galaxy Note 9. The biggest reason why I feel that the Note 9 and DeX can be an unbeatable pair this time is because of what Samsung has done to DeX. When the company unveiled this feature in 2016, Samsung also showed a DeX dock. This dock connected to the screen, and the supported phones — the top-end Galaxy phones like the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8 — rested on this dock. The DeX dock was sold separately. Currently, it costs an additional Rs 8250 if you want to use DeX dock.
The Galaxy Note 9 doesn’t require this dock. The functionality that is inside the dock has been now included by Samsung in the Note 9 itself. So, to use the DeX feature with the Note 9 you will need an HDMI-to-USB-C connector that Samsung will sell separately. The connector too means extra expense for a user but compared to the price of the DeX dock, this connector is going to cost significantly less.
Removing the dock from the DeX experience simplifies it all for users. Now, if they hope to use the Note 9 as a productivity tool, like the way they will use a laptop, while travelling they don’t have to carry the DeX dock in their backpacks. They can simply carry the DeX dongle.
Along with simplifying the hardware set-up for DeX, Samsung has made the feature more versatile in the Note 9. The DeX now supports additional window mode. This means even when the phone is connected to a big screen and is using DeX, you can still do on the Note 9 whatever else you want to do, independently of what you are doing on the big screen. Here is an example (theoretical for now because I am yet to try out new DeX), in office you connect your phone to a big screen and while you are working on a sales report on the monitor, you can also keep checking tweets on the Note 9. Sounds neat, if it works well enough.
Finally, there is the new S Pen, which too adds to the DeX appeal on the Note 9. The S Pen now supports Bluetooth and hence can work as a remote. When it comes to DeX, this S-Pen-as-remote feature is most likely to come handy for presentations. During the launch of the Note 9 a number of Samsung executives presented using the Note 9, and it seemingly worked flawlessly.
On paper, the new DeX looks like a feature that makes the Note 9 a unique and incredible smartphone. But when I say this, I also take a leap of faith in believing that it will work the way Samsung describes it while introducing the Note 9.
Now I also to strike a note of caution. Companies are trying to make smartphones work like a computer when connected to a big screen for the last six odd years. So far, none of them has succeeded. A lot of things need to fall in place for a phone to seamlessly transform itself into a computer. The hardware has to be desktop-class, or in other words as powerful as in an average laptop. So far that hasn’t happened. Then the connector has to be fast enough for seamless data transfer. If the port is not good, there is going to be latency and that PC-like experience will end up being jarring.
Most significantly, the software has to work in a way that it allows the transformation of the phone into a computer. We work differently on a big screen (right click for example and using mouse) and we have different expectations from a big computer compared to what we demand from our phones. To meet this expectations, a company has to figure out the right kind of software and features that can satisfy both — smartphone users as well as desktop users.
Getting it all right has, so far, been incredibly difficult. Even Samsung didn’t entirely succeed with the DeX in 2016. The Note 9, though, could be the first phone that manages to get it right. And if it does, not only DeX will make the Note 9 a phone that is completely, totally unique in the sea of high-end smartphones, but will also give it a platform to create a new future for smartphone users, a future where we all can just one devices instead of many to go through our digital lives.
