Samsung hopes that the Galaxy S21 series connecting to PCs wirelessly will drive adoption of its desktop-like interface
Samsung has long dreamed of the modern smartphone extending its usefulness to more PC-like use cases, such functions you might otherwise drive on a desktop or laptop. To that end, the company has poured resources into DeX, a Chrome OS-like interface that works remarkably well with a traditional keyboard and mouse. Last fall, we really dug this feature as part of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, where DeX added tons of utility to an otherwise-barren Android tablet landscape. DeX isn’t just for tablets, though; the Galaxy S phone lineup has long supported it. A new feature of Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 series of devices should make running in DeX mode much easier via wireless connectivity. We’ve taken DeX on the Samsung Galaxy S21 for a spin, and the company has baked a boatload of excellent features into the software. There’s basic screen casting functionality built right into the device, although Samsung’s documentations says that it is limited to 1080p in wireless mode. USB Type-C to HDMI cables already allowed that functionality on older devices, but the S21 cuts the cord and handles it all via Miracast.
