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Home Office on a mobile device: using Samsung DeX

Many companies have now transferred their employees to remote work. Others plan to do this soon. Is it possible to work from home with only an Android smartphone or tablet? Of course, it is possible, especially if this is a device with Samsung DeX support. Below you will find a brief overview of the platform and its short history, as well as a description of the real case of use - a thin client connecting to the remote desktop via RDP.



What is Samsung DeX




DeX (Desktop Experience) is Android Desktop, the launch mode of Android on an external display (or on the display of the tablet itself) in the format of a desktop OS. When connected, DeX launches a graphical shell similar to the usual desktop desktop, with the ability to open multiple windows, drag and drop, keyboard shortcuts, etc.

DeX is available for all Galaxy S Series smartphones starting with S8 / S8 + and Note, starting with Note 8, as well as Tab S4 tablets and older.


Back in 2017, a volume dock was needed to use DeX mode. They joked about her, hinting at a resemblance to a food plate. In 2020, the necessary equipment was reduced to a small adapter - DeX became more convenient and affordable. 

How to choose an adapter for DeX


To work with DeX, you need an adapter that connects the phone to the monitor’s HDMI connector. There are several options for Samsung HDMI adapters on the market: from a regular cable to a full-fledged docking station with the ability to simultaneously charge, connect USB peripherals and a LAN cable.



Third-party HDMI adapters may also support DeX mode, but their use does not guarantee optimal image quality and performance.

How to connect a workstation


Once we have decided on the adapter, you can start DeX. To do this:

1. Connect the device using the adapter to an external screen (monitor, TV or projector) or run DeX mode on your tablet. Important: the external screen must support a 16: 9 aspect ratio and one of the following resolutions FHD (1920x1080), HD + (1600x900) or WQHD (2560x1440). 

2. (Optional) Connect the keyboard and mouse via Bluetooth or via the USB port (if the adapter allows this option). Instead of a keyboard and mouse, you can use the device’s screen as a touchpad. Thus, there are 2 possible scenarios for using a smartphone screen in DeX: with a touchpad or with an additional screen:



3. If possible, connect the charger (Fast Charge adapter included with the mobile device). DeX-mode uses the resources of the mobile device more intensively, which means it consumes battery power faster.

4. Next, follow the instructions on the device screen.

It will look something like this:



To learn more about DeX technical details and specifications, including a complete list of supported devices, you can here

Getting started with DeX


It is time to get to know the DeX interface more closely:



Let's analyze each interface element separately:

In the lower right corner is the Notification Menu. Here you can also switch between DeX mode and the usual duplication of the device screen. Even through the notification panel, you can switch the device screen to the touchpad mode . This is convenient if you do not have a separate mouse, or it is difficult for you to connect it (there are not enough slots on the adapter).



There is also a Quick Settings menu :



In the lower left corner are the standard Android buttons Back , Home screen and Recent applications . As well as the application menu- access to all applications on the device. 



In the lower left corner is the DeX button. Here you can get basic information, block, turn off DeX or activate Dex Labs mode.

Dex Labs is a set of “experimental” platform features that allow you to open the last running application when you switch to DeX and force window size for those applications that are not yet adapted to work in DeX mode.



Remote office


We saw many features of DeX. But the main thing is not that. After all, we need a working tool, and not another function in a smartphone. And among a large number adapted to DeX applications, there is a category that interests us most of all - it's clients to connect to a remote workstation (VNC, RDP, TeamViewer) or Cloud VDI (Citrix Receiver, VMware Horizon, etc.)

Open , for example, the Microsoft Remote Desktop application.

To get started, you need to create a new connection. The program will prompt you to connect automatically if auto-detection is activated on the machine, or you can manually configure the configuration: specify the address of the remote station and username:



The password for the user must be set on the remote computer.
You must also enable remote access in the Windows Control Panel. 

Next, we show the settings using the example of Windows 10. Go to the System settings (the right button “This computer” - Properties, or Control Panel - System and Security - System). On the left menu is Advanced System Settings - the Remote Access tab - "Allow remote connections to this computer." 
Among the settings for connecting the RDP client in DeX there is, for example, the ability to choose to play audio on a remote machine or on the client side, i.e. Via the device’s built-in speakers or headphones. 



Another client gives you the opportunity to access the phone's memory on a remote computer. If you activate the option "Redirect local storage", in Windows you can open documents on the phone directly from Explorer:





And it looks like the RDP client interface at the time after the connection is established. You can switch between different machines, or switch to full screen mode (Fullscreen).



The application works similarly to the RDP client in Windows. A common clipboard between systems and audio transmission is supported.

***

Thus, it is possible to organize remote work with only a phone or tablet. This option can be considered as a replacement for a laptop or PC, if they are used only as a thin client to access a remote workstation, or on trips when there is not a complete desktop OS on hand.

And in conclusion, a short overview video about DeX:



Posted by 
Alexei Klyuyev,
Lead Engineer
Business Development Team
Samsung R&D Institute, Russia

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