Samsung DeX gets a Google-powered makeover in One UI 8

Samsung DeX is getting a serious rethink in One UI 8. With the upcoming update, DeX, the company’s long-running desktop experience for Galaxy devices, is being reimagined from the ground up. The biggest change is that it’s no longer just Samsung’s show. DeX is now riding on Google’s native Desktop Mode introduced in Android 16, signaling a major shift in how Samsung envisions mobile productivity.

Samsung DeX: Dismantled and redefined

DeX first arrived in 2017 alongside the Galaxy S8 series, turning heads with the promise of turning a phone into a desktop-like machine. It brought windowed apps, a dedicated taskbar, and a custom interface tailored for external displays.

Over the years, Samsung piled on features – nuanced taskbar tweaks, keyboard remapping, app pinning, audio routing, and more. It was niche, yes, but it catered to a specific kind of user; someone who wanted more from their phone than just Instagram and Gmail.

Fast forward to One UI 8, and that Swiss Army knife of DeX features is being trimmed back. Gone is the standalone DeX tab in the settings. In its place is a more generic “Connected Display” menu. The familiar app drawer now scrolls vertically.

You’ll no longer find options like “Exit DeX” or “Lock DeX”. Core features such as taskbar visibility, audio output selection, keyboard repositioning, and app pinning have also been removed. In its current state, the new DeX feels like a step backward. That said, Samsung’s collaboration with Google on Android’s Desktop Mode could eventually make the experience more powerful and more universally supported.

From custom-built to Android-native

With Android 16, Google has laid the groundwork for a native Desktop Mode, complete with freeform window support, a persistent taskbar, and better handling of multi-display environments.

Instead of building a parallel system, Samsung is integrating its DeX features into Google’s framework. It’s a rare moment of restraint from a company known for carving its own path in Android’s wild west.

ALSO READ: Which phones will get Android 16 update first?

The current One UI 8 beta still keeps the basics of DeX intact – touchpad functionality, S Pen support, and wireless display connections all remain. But the more advanced, granular features that power users grew to love are absent, for now.

Samsung hasn’t confirmed whether these will return in future updates, but the goal definitely seems to be a unified, standardised approach to desktop-style Android.