Google confirms it’s bringing a desktop mode to Android

Android was first developed to be an operating system for smartphones, but over the years Google has added support for tablets, smart TVs, and other devices. Now the company is also planning to bring a desktop mode to Android.

While this could come in handy if Google eventually decides to replace ChromeOS with Android, it could also let you use Android phones like desktop or laptop computers when connected to an external screen and keyboard. Earlier this month Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman took an early look at a pre-release version of the upcoming Android desktop experience. Now, during this year’s Google I/O developer conference, the company has confirmed that this is a real thing that will be coming to Android devices at some point.

So what exactly is desktop mode?

In a nutshell Android phones are largely designed to show one app at a time. While there are some multitasking abilities, they’re largely limited to an app switcher that lets you quickly toggle between apps and a split-screen view that lets you view two apps at the same time.

Most modern desktop operating systems, on the other hand, allow you to run as many apps as your system can handle in floating windows that can be resized and moved anywhere on your screen (or across multiple physical or virtual displays). There’s also usually some sort of taskbar or dock that lets you quickly bring any running or pinned app to the foreground.

And that’s exactly what Google’s Desktop mode for Android will bring: a taskbar and floating windows.

Google is hardly the first company to do this – Samsung has been offering a desktop experience called DeX on select Android phones and tablets since 2017. But, as noted by 9to5 Google, not only has Google acknowledged that it’s working on “enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16,” but that it’s “been collaborating with Samsung, building on the foundation of Samsung DeX.”

A post on Google’s Android Developers Blog also suggests that “desktop windowing and connected displays in Android 16” are a reason why developers will want to make sure their Android apps play well with a variety of screen sizes.