Samsung DeX from a Linux user’s perspective
I’ve been using Samsung DeX on my Samsung Galaxy S9+ practically daily for a good 2 weeks now and I feel like I have a few words on usability and the general UX experience.
First and foremost: This hasn’t replaced ANY of my devices. I use my Linux desktop for x86 gaming and to use proper desktop applications. I use my Linux laptop (Surface Go) primarily for school, so that’s note-taking and general productivity. And DeX is not replacing any of this. Steam Remote Play just doesn’t work well on GNOME/Wayland (and I’m not using X11, it’s the current year and our Red Hat overlords would be upset if I did), and the app doesn’t work well in DeX mode. Note-taking on a phone? Stop joking. Even on a Note that’s terrible.
For productivity work, it would be possible if I were to use proprietary services like Google Docs or Word with OneDrive, but I use LibreOffice and .ODT primarily, and store my documents locally, so this doesn’t work out great. I could switch to using Word, but the app constantly complains about not being connected to OneDrive, so basically unusable.
So what do I use this thing for then? What could I possibly do with all my phone’s apps on my ultrawide monitor and a keyboard/mouse. Well that’s obvious: fuck around and procrastinate!
Samsung DeX is GREAT for this. If I feel like wasting an afternoon or the whole night, it’s great for this. After all, isn’t that what phones excel at? Attracting our attention and wasting time?
Alright this is getting too woke so I digress, DeX is great for, entertaining myself. The YouTube app works fine, Twitter is a joy to scroll through, Librem Social (Mastodon), and Discord app works surprisingly well on DeX.
I can seamlessly use my Galaxy Buds to listen to content, respond to calls (in both Dialer and Discord), and they work the same way they work on mobile.
Now not everything is perfect, Firefox Nightly (Fenix/Preview) doesn’t have a desktop UI, but besides that it works fine.
MINECRAFT FOR ANDROID DOESN’T SUPPORT MOUSE VIEW MOVEMENT, but somehow supports keyboard. Why one is supported without the other is a mystery to me.
Apps with links sometimes link to my browser, but if there’s a corresponding app installed, it will either open the app separately in another window, or with apps like Reddit, open inside the current app, completely obscuring the view of the previous app. Ok thanks.
Librem Mail (K-9 Mail) doesn’t scroll with the mouse in e-mails, I have to drag the cursor while clicking, but works fine when selecting e-mails. Ok.
Some apps (notably LINE) don’t “Send” when pressing Enter, but rather add a new line.
Librem Social (Tusky) has this thing where pressing Ctrl+Enter to send a Toot sends it twice, once with any media sent originally, and twice with just the text. Ok?
Volume control is the same as on mobile, which is annoying because I expect to be able to individually control volumes of apps. Also playing media in a 2nd app usually pauses it in the 1st. This is expected behavior on mobile of course, but I should be expected to pause things manually on desktop.
Alt+Tab is spotty. The switcher is shown, but usually doesn’t work.
The interface is not customizable at all, you can add shortcuts at the bottom or the desktop, but that’s IT.
I have to remember to save or somehow preserve what I’m doing if I want to dock/un-dock.
While using my phone normally, if I want to move apps to DeX, if they don’t support “continuity” (somehow Twitter does), they have to be restarted to throw them up on the big screen.
And if I’m doing something in an app on DeX and want to un-dock, it will be essentially killed as soon as I unplug HDMI.
I can’t snap windows to the sides for split-screen.
Also apps don’t really move along a “grid”.
So I can easily just drag windows offscreen or slightly over other windows which is annoying.
There should be some sort of resistance before letting the user do that.
PLEASE STOP ME.
Solid Explorer is glitchy when selecting items and requires a double-click, but does work with right-click.
Multi-tasking and then some apps decide to just stop when you click outside them really reminds you’re using systems designed for full-screen use on phones (Parsec freezes when you click outside, what the fuck, why was this overlooked, when the user may want to switch back and forth between messaging apps like Discord).
Also most messaging apps won’t update in the background, and will only show new messages when the app is switched to.
Apps that require fingerprint login are a bit cumbersome to use since I have to reach for my phone and reach for the fingerprint sensor.
This is probably a non-issue on the S10 since it has a on-display fingerprint reader, unlike the S8/S9. But it’s worth mentioning.
More importantly I’m reminded that this sort of experience is really only available on Samsung devices through proprietary software.
Android 10 does bring some of this functionality natively in Android, but it’s not entirely complete, and more of an alpha.
The only genuine solutions I can think of that is similar to this is Continuum from Microsoft, but that involves using Windows, so no.
As well as Ubuntu Phone, which while is left unsupported by Canonical, does live on under the UBPorts community project.
You can plug your supported Ubuntu Phone into a dock and have a full Unity desktop experience.
Only problem with that is of course: eww Unity, and, device support.
The Librem 5 had promised this functionality, but of course like many of Purism’s promises, this hasn’t been implemented yet, despite phosh being surprisingly usable, more than many Wayland compositors can say.
I won’t go into Purism bashing, because I’m still hoping they can deliver on their promises that Linux really needs.
The really upsetting thing is that this is proprietary software, controlled and maintained only by Samsung.
Just like the Linux on DeX project, it can be killed anytime by a software update with no way of restoring the feature.
Funny thing, ironically, I actually started using DeX on the DAY SAMSUNG KILLED LINUX ON DEX, GOD DAMN IT.
The biggest reason I continue to use Samsung DeX daily is simply because it makes it extremely easy to procrastinate.
Not only does it make it more efficient (as efficient as procrastination can be) than using my phone portably, but when it works, can be actually useful when performing some tasks that would take longer to do single-task-edly on a mobile screen.
Which is why I’m hoping the Galaxy Fold succeeds and improves in the third revision.
It’s also just fun to use.
Throwing up phone apps on my monitor and controlling them with a keyboard/mouse is just plain COOL. I don’t have to explain how cool that is.
Whether or not DeX is useful to you is something you can easily try out. As long as you have a USB-C hub of some sorts (which is becoming more common as more and more laptops sacrifice ports for USB-C) you can just try plugging in your monitor and a keyboard/mouse of some sorts (even Bluetooth) to try it out.
Just be prepared to be amazed, disappointed, and confused all at the same time.
