It’s not just Amazon, Google, and Microsoft that Apple is going into WWDC 2017 playing catch-up with. There’s also Samsung. And Samsung, undeterred by the Note 7 fiasco, has been busy over the past year.
It’s not just Amazon, Google, and Microsoft that Apple is going into WWDC 2017 playing catch-up with. There’s also Samsung.
And Samsung, undeterred by the Note 7 fiasco, has been busy over the past year.
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You’re probably thinking that I’m referring to the gap between the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 7. Not really.
I’m thinking about Samsung’s DeX .
For those that don’t know, DeX is a dock that allows users to connect your Galaxy S8/S8+ to a monitor, keyboard and mouse to turn it into a desktop experience – of sorts – powered by the handset.
This „dock that transforms a smartphone into a desktop PC“ thing not a new idea – it’s been tried many times before – and DeX is not perfect by a long shot, but it is certainly the most credible attempt at bridging the smartphone/desktop gap.
And right now Apple has nothing to compete with DeX.
OK, some of you are probably already flexing your fingers in preparation to type into the comments something along the lines of „but what about the iPad?“ or „who needs a desktop when you have an iPhone?“ or „what about the MacBook?“
My response is simple – none of these solutions comes close to what DeX offers.
Now you might be thinking that DeX is just a flash in the pan. A fad. A sign that Samsung desperately throwing ideas against a wall in the hope that just a few stick.
Maybe.
But it’s also pretty timely. If the current limited laptop ban expands into a global laptop ban, then platforms such as DeX might get a foothold as business travellers decide that it’s too risky to take a laptop. While some might appreciate the break from the never-ending distraction that modern technology bombards us with, others might feel that their smartphone can be leveraged to do more than we currently ask of a smartphone.
And like I said already, Apple has nothing to offer.
We can add DeX to the ever-increasing list of technologies that Apple is trailing behind in. And while Apple fans are desperate to believe that everything is alright with Apple, and affirming every bad decision the company makes (even if that results in the stagnation of the iPad, losing ground to Microsoft, and the Mac line up being left to go old and crusty) , Samsung users get cool new stuff.
