Google and Samsung unite again for a DeX-powered Android 16 desktop mode

21 May 2025, 15:30 by Chandraveer Mathur · Android Police

Summary

Google is integrating Samsung DeX foundations into the upcoming desktop mode for Android 16.
Despite not being in the latest beta, this collaboration aims to enhance productivity workflows.
The partnership may leverage Samsung's experience and user feedback to create a more refined interface.

Android is an interesting ecosystem in that the brands making our favorite smartphones have considerable leeway in the software experience they deliver to customers, even though Google supplies solid guiding principles. Samsung DeX is a fine example of where such liberties can lead, since it championed the desktop-like experience on the company's flagship devices for years. Android 16's latest beta just confirms that Google isn't afraid to base its own desktop mode on the success of Samsung DeX.

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Samsung DeX has been around since 2017 and Google is only catching up now, with an experience called desktop mode in Android 16, deployed after several months of development alongside Android 15, as reported previously. A few weeks before the I/O keynote address, even before the Pre-I/O Android Show, reputable Android enthusiast Mishaal Rahman found damning evidence linking desktop mode to DeX. Now, with the Android 16 beta testing gathering steam and the I/O keynote behind us, we finally have confirmation from Google that it has indeed partnered with Samsung for the upcoming interface.

Following I/O's inauguration, Google staffer Florina Muntenescu told 9to5Google that the PC-like UI in Android 16 is built on the Samsung DeX's foundation.

We’ve been collaborating with Samsung, building on the foundation of Samsung DeX, to bring enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16, for more powerful productivity workflows.

A longstanding partnership

Across products and services

It's worth noting that although desktop mode got stage time at I/O, it still isn't available in the latest QPR beta release for Android 16, at least not by default. However, this isn't the first time the search giant has joined forces with a brand that rivals it on store shelves. Google's rebranded Nearby Share experience, now known as Quick Share, was unveiled at a Samsung event late last year, and the South Korean powerhouse is also one of the flagship hardware partners for Android XR, with Project Moohan.

On stage, Google said it hopes the partnership will give end users a more powerful productivity-oriented interface. Moreover, this is no surprise collaboration since one brand has accrued years of experience and user feedback from software deployed in the field while the other continues internal beta testing and development. Even though DeX and desktop mode may not share much on the surface, the borrowed user feedback alone may have a significant impact on the final product when Android 16 ships later this year.

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