Google is developing a new desktop experience for Android, the company announced at its I/O 2025 developer conference on Tuesday. It is collaborating with Samsung to build upon the foundations laid by Samsung DeX — short for Desktop eXperience, to improve the desktop windowing capabilities not just on phones and tablets powered by Android, but also for an expanding range of devices across form factors and features. It aims to provide a more desktop-oriented experience when devices are connected to external displays.
Desktop Experience in Android 16
During the keynote at Google I/O 2025, the company revealed that it is working to improve the desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16 in collaboration with Samsung, with the aim of delivering “more powerful productivity workflows”. In a subsequent post on the Android Developers blog, it provided more information about adaptive apps.
As per the Mountain View-based tech giant, Android 16 will offer advancements in desktop windowing for delivering a “true” desktop-like experience. The new capabilities will be enabled when a device is connected to an external screen, possibly through a USB connection.
Google says it is leveraging Adaptive Android development as a strategic solution for enabling apps to perform adequately across an expanding range of devices. Using select design choices, it is emphasising on code reuse and scalability to also ensure apps adapt to different screen sizes with minimal changes. This includes over 500 million active devices beyond phones, including but not limited to foldables, tablets, Chromebooks, and in-car infotainment systems.
It builds upon previous reports which shed light on Google’s development of the desktop experience. The new desktop experience is said to enable users to take advantage of larger screens via their phone, specifically a Pixel, when it is connected to an external display such as a laptop via a USB Type-C connection.
A “enable desktop windowing on secondary displays” option reportedly discovered in the Android 16 Beta 4 brings the Android taskbar, status bar, and the three-button navigation menu when a device is connected. The taskbar features pinned apps such as Phone, Messages, Camera, Google Chrome, as well as the app drawer. As per reports, it will also be able to display recent apps in recent mode, potentially improving the multitasking capabilities.
