LOS ANGELES: Pixel users will soon be able to use their smartphone as a kind of tiny laptop by connecting it to a monitor, Google says.
With the Pixel's March feature drop, desktop mode is being rolled out gradually for all Google smartphones from the Pixel 8 onwards, according to the company.
The mode turns the smartphone, when connected to an external USB-C monitor, into a computer-like interface that can be controlled with a mouse and keyboard.
Pixel owners can then use their phone to work with multiple windows on a large screen, enabling tasks such as text editing, photo viewing, video streaming and more. The desktop mode has been tested in beta versions of Google’s smartphone operating system since 2025.
Alongside Google, Samsung also offers a similar mode for many of its smartphones. When connected to a USB-C display, DeX likewise expands the interface into a computer-like display and user mode. For the rollout on Pixel phones, Google worked with Samsung, according to industry media reports.
What else is new in the current feature drop
In a blog post, Google announced several other new features coming to various Pixel devices.
- Now Playing, the music recognition feature, is now a standalone app with new functions. Until now, music recognition was somewhat hard to find deep in the menu. There is now a dedicated recognition history and the option to play recognised songs directly in the user’s preferred music app.
- New personalisation for icons and more: Pixel users can choose between several AI-generated display styles for their device.
- Scam detection for phone calls in Google’s Phone app is being rolled out in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Germany and Japan, after arriving earlier in the US, Australia, Canada, India and Ireland.
- Circle to Search, which lets users circle objects on the screen to search the web, will also be able to identify individual aspects of an image on Pixel 10 devices, such as a particular outfit. The results can then be shown AI-generated on the user’s own body. To do this, a photo can be uploaded or several models can be selected.
– dpa
