13 ms·

Android’s desktop interface leaks

289 points by thunderbong 9mo ago

paul_h 9mo ago
Exciting .. I'm typing on that HP Dragonfly now :) Google - put me in the testing group pls - Paul H
Klaster_1 9mo ago
I don't want a "PC future" where you can't just install software without OS vendor blessing.
- netdevphoenix 9mo ago
  Neither do I. But with Windows slipping badly, Google could start encroaching on their core tech.
  - torben-friis 9mo ago
    Linux seems to be gaining a lot of traction, both with the fall of windows and gaming being more than feasible. It makes sense for the tech savvy option to succeed, now that personal computing is disappearing. Average folks won’t use a windows/macbook, they’ll use phones and tablets. My only concern is ending in a macOS+asahi situation where supporting a single device requires mountains of effort.
    - Loughla 9mo ago
      The fall of windows and Linux gaining traction. I've seen that written on here, Reddit, /., digg, hell even on usenet back in the day. . . .
      - LorenDB 9mo ago
        And yet it's undeniable that 2025 had some of the biggest Linux hype in recent times: - Windows 10 went EOL and triggered a wave of people moving to Linux to escape Windows 11 - DHH's adventures in Linux inspired a lot of people (including some popular coding streamers/YouTubers) to try Linux - Pewdiepie made multiple videos about switching to Linux and selfhosting - Bazzite reported serving 1 PB of downloads in one month - Zorin reported 1M downloads of ZorinOS 18 in one month and crossed the 2M threshold in under 3 months - I personally recall seeing a number of articles from various media outlets of writers trying Linux and being pretty impressed with how good it was - And don't forget Valve announced the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, which will both run Linux and have a ton of hype around them In fact, I think that we will look back in 5 or 10 years and point at 2025 as the turning point for Linux on the desktop.
      - torben-friis 9mo ago
        Yes, but have you seen you real life non tech friends move to Linux? I’m seeing it now, and this is new.
        pjmlp 9mo ago
        Yes, and I also have seen they come back to Windows, when they got into issues sharing software or files with friends, or local goverment requirements, and didn't had a relative to do their IT support for free.
    - pjmlp 9mo ago
      The cycling speech since Window XP Toy's R US L&F days, unfortunely. Less fragmentation, more focus, OEM support on devices selling on regular stores is needed, otherwise we won't get away from the yearly meme.
      - flohofwoe 9mo ago
        > otherwise we won't get away from the yearly meme What's different in the last decade is that Windows is on an undeniable quality downward spiral, it's simply not important anymore for Microsoft. E.g. desktop Linux doesn't even need to improve, it just needs to wait for Windows to become worse ;)
        pjmlp 9mo ago
        Unless it becomes available for normies to buy laptops with it pre-installed at Saturn, Media Market, FNAC, Cool Blue, and co, it won't matter. They aren't going to buy them from Tuxedo.
        flohofwoe 9mo ago
        "Normies" buy smartphones and maybe a tablet, neither of those has Windows preinstalled either.
        pjmlp 9mo ago
        Available at Saturn, Media Market, FNAC, Cool Blue show floor.
        flohofwoe 9mo ago
        ...and a market share of 0.02% ;) https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide (I guess those 'Windows tablets' are running under convertible laptops or something...)
  - fc417fc802 9mo ago
    So just don't use windows? The only reason I use android to begin with is because the mobile centric distros I looked into didn't appear to be to the point I would want to daily drive them yet. If and when that changes I'll switch. The only real issue is sourcing good mobile hardware that isn't locked down. At least for the time being the pixel line satisfies that.
- direwolf20 9mo ago
  This is why Valve invested so much in Linux. They saw the writing on the wall of Microsoft becoming Apple (but shittier). Now they have an alternative. If Microsoft charges a 30% tax on all Steam transactions and won't let Steam run unless they do that, Valve can heavily push Linux and Steam Machine sales.
  - pjmlp 9mo ago
    And yet they failed to get game devs to natively target SteamOS. As long as they depend on Proton, they haven't fully solved their problem.
    - flohofwoe 9mo ago
      Tbh, why bother? kernel32+user32+gdi32+d3d[11|12]+dxgi is a pretty great API abstraction for game development. And unlike Linux desktop APIs the Win32 APIs are actually stable, so those games will also work in 5 years, and most importantly, performance is the same or better than on Windows. It's unlikely that game devs directly targeting Vulkan would do any better, and when using a high level engine, any layering overhead in Proton is negligible anyway. And don't even get me started about the state of audio APIs on Linux ;) Also don't underestimate the amount of workarounds and tweaks that (most likely) go into Proton for games that make poor system API use. Without Proton those game-specific hacks would need to go into MESA, Wayland, X11 or various system audio libraries. At least Proton is one central place to accumulate all the game-specific warts in some dusty corner of their code base. TL;DR: just think of Proton as an extremely low level and slim cross-platform API for games (not all that different than SDL), and suddenly it makes a lot of sense. And I bet that in 5..10 years Windows will have regressed so much that it might actually be better to run games through a Proton-like shim even on Windows (assuming Windows hasn't become 'yet another Linux distro' by then anyway) ;)
      - LtWorf 9mo ago
        Try running a directx 5 game and let me know how it goes.
- palata 9mo ago
  Same, but my PC runs on Linux so I don't feel threatened. I feel like at some point normies may end up just using iPadOS or Android as a "convergent" device: a tablet/phone that they can plug into a docking station and use as a computer. I am sort of hoping that it will work with something like GrapheneOS, so that I will be able to benefit from it on my phone.
  - orev 9mo ago
    > my PC runs on Linux so I don't feel threatened. Well, you should feel threatened. Where do you think the push towards TPM and secure boot is heading? Microsoft is insanely envious of how Apple and Google locked down their platforms and have total control over app stores, and that’s what Microsoft wants too. It’s a huge revenue stream they’re leaving on the table. Now that there’s precedent on mobile, they’ll have no problem pushing it through on desktop. And once all the normies have moved to iPads, there won’t be a big enough market for anyone to manufacture PC hardware for hobbyists anymore.
    - palata 9mo ago
      Right, I guess we agree but I was not clear. In general, I don't care so much if Windows or macOS become as locked as Android or iOS, as long as I can install Linux on my hardware. My point is that many people seem to complain because they want to be root on the Google-certified Android. I disagree with that: Google makes an OS where you cannot be root. If you want an OS where you can be root, you should be able to install another OS on the hardware you bought. Because you should own that hardware. But you don't own Google.
      - digiown 9mo ago
        The problem is more that you're forced to use Google's OS. Usually just less convenient, but often in a literal sense too with these government services increasingly requiring attestation.
        palata 9mo ago
Aldipower 9mo ago
No thanks.
daoboy 9mo ago
Many years ago I used to play around with CyanogenMod and Linux. Life with work and a family became too busy to fuss with that stuff, but I'm rapidly approaching the point where abuse from android and Microsoft make using a less polished OS worth the bother.
- mhitza 9mo ago
  You'll be happy to hear then that the experience has improved significantly over the past decade.
  - esperent 9mo ago
    Eh, it's better. But it's still a mess unless you're using a device specifically designed for Linux like a Steamdeck or Framework. Expect to spend a lot of time messing around in the console if you install on an arbitrary laptop that came with Windows installed. Wifi problems, sleep problems, external monitor problems, laptop screen brightness problems, graphics card problems.
GreenVulpine 9mo ago
Does it still require wiping your drive and enabling developer mode to install software outside the Play Store like ChromeOS does? DOA if so.
- skybrian 9mo ago
  I believe you can run Linux in a container and use apt-get. https://chromeos.dev/en/linux/setup https://chromeos.dev/en/linux/setup
  - g947o 9mo ago
    Using applications with a GUI isn't a very enjoyable experience in that environment.
N_Lens 9mo ago
Google’s entire business is predicated on collecting as much data on users as possible. This OS will be the worst spyware imaginable.
- titzer 9mo ago
  No, only the 85% or so of it that's accreted since about 2008. Prior to that it actually made money by offering useful search results without infringing on user privacy. That core business model could still work to power a company about 1/8th the size of current Google. Current Google cannot survive on that model. Something went really wrong when it put growthism above all else.
  - pwg 9mo ago
    > Something went really wrong What went wrong was Google (the old 'do no evil' Google) bought the ad network DoubleClick. The acquired DoubleClick side then took over old Google from the inside out such that what we have today is Doubleclick calling itself "google", no more 'do no evil' old Google anywhere, and all the evil that exists on the advertising side infesting everything they do.
- g947o 9mo ago
  That ship sailed many years ago with Windows 11, and Windows 10 to some extent. By the way, you forgot Android itself.
monologue6894 9mo ago
Some "first look" It's just a slightly different showcase of the same UI shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzDO-GS-Bm8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzDO-GS-Bm8 That UI is available to test on any Pixel 10 (maybe even any Android 16 device?)
- jakub_g 9mo ago
  I do have it in Pixel 8 after enabling in developer options. It's a bit buggy and low resolution, but does the job when e.g. I want to connect some video I'm already watching on mobile to the external display via USB-C. (You can connect a mouse via Bluetooth to the phone, or via a USB dongle plugged into your monitor, to control it.) An interesting thing is that you can run apps X and Y on desktop screen while also run app X on mobile screen independently.
  - jakub_g 9mo ago
    *I meant "app Z on mobile screen", can't edit anymore.
Imustaskforhelp 9mo ago
If this allows one to still have (linux terminals?), then its (fine?) but Klaster_1 suggests that installing software would become hard without OS vendor blessing. I mean, is this OS literally just android with a more desktop like UI? Didn't Samsung have something like this called (just searched) Samsung Dex? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Samsung+DeX&t=ffab&ia=images&iax=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fimg-s-msn-com.akamaized.net%2Ftenant%2Famp%2Fentityid%2FAA1y2Xw4.img%3Fw%3D1920%26h%3D1079%26m%3D4%26q%3D79 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Samsung+DeX&t=ffab&ia=images&iax=i... What I would prefer is a linux device phone being more widespread than Android PC. Linux in PC is mostly pretty good. We probably need some good linux phones. One of the biggest issues I find is that they are really price-y so even though I don't want much specs, I find it troubling to justify a 2x price increase in such sense. > Didn't Samsung have something like this called (just searched) Samsung Dex?
- realusername 9mo ago
  Samsung Dex still exists and still sucks. It's probably the best desktop experience available on Android but it's nowhere near usable as a daily driver. It feels a like a lightweight window manager from the 2008 era.
  - pjmlp 9mo ago
    It is good enough that a Samsung tablet has replaced my now dead netbook.
    - imp0cat 9mo ago
      Yeah, it is acceptable.
ndr 9mo ago
Chrome and Android look like yin and yang: one never knows which one is planned to run inside the other.
fanatic2pope 9mo ago
I have absolutely no interest in expanding the use of Android in my life. I am, in fact, far more interested in going the other way and trying to reduce my reliance on any locked down platforms.
- fsflover 9mo ago
  So you may want to consider GNU/Linux phones (Librem 5 and Pinephone). By the way, they have a real desktop mode with desktop apps, not mobile apps on a large screen.
Ronsenshi 9mo ago
Is it going to be the same future as Fuchsia OS? There were some good ideas in that one, but then one day it sort of disappeared. Not that that was surprising - Google is good at that.
- bossyTeacher 9mo ago
  I believe the Google Nest devices ship with Fuchsia
  - LtWorf 9mo ago
    I'm sure they will be discontinued in a few days.
    - pjmlp 9mo ago
      See Android Things, does anyone still remember it, or Brillo that was originally supposed to be it?
      - IshKebab 9mo ago
        Yeah they failed pretty hard at least three times on the IoT front. To be fair I think they're finally making some kind of progress with Matter. About 10 years late, but still.
- poisonborz 9mo ago
  It was an experiment to keep bright engineers busy with cool ideas to show off.Even back then they could have known that it is not a viable idea to make a tectonic platform switch with not much business arguments for it.
  - IshKebab 9mo ago
    I don't think so. Feels like it was more about getting away from Linux and all the driver issues it entails. It's a very long-term bet for sure.
DeathArrow 9mo ago
I don't want any kind of store on my PC.
Moomoomoo309 9mo ago
Oh, I see Google's angle now. They want to make android a viable desktop OS in order to have more users using android Chrome rather than Windows Chrome, because the former lacks extension support, and thus ad blockers. Of course, you can still install brave or kiwi browser or Firefox to your heart's content, but most people won't. It's brilliantly simple. It's not too bad for power users, they'll probably use a different browser, or for developers, given the work they're putting into the Linux containers, but for most users...we'll see the expected result.
- yjftsjthsd-h 9mo ago
  This shows a version of Chrome with extensions. > The Google Chrome interface mostly aligns with the current large-screen Android version except for the Extensions button, which is currently only available on the desktop browser.
  - Moomoomoo309 9mo ago
    Wow, I don't know how I missed that. Guess that theory goes out the window!
solarkraft 9mo ago
The Android system is such a pain to work with. I’m curious to see whether they actually fixed the fundamentals making it unappealing for general purpose computing or they just stuck Android onto Chromebooks (guessing the latter).
giancarlostoro 9mo ago
Is this going to mean ChromeOS is going to eventually die or be merged with Android? Curious.
- ashleyn 9mo ago
  It appears ChromeOS is being killed and they're porting much of its feature set into Android. This may be marketed as "ChromeOS", with identical functionality, and consumers won't be none the wiser.
dfajgljsldkjag 9mo ago
This looks like it will help a lot of students and families who are on a budget. If you can just plug your phone into a screen you do not need to buy a separate laptop anymore. The browser extensions are the most important part because that is what makes a computer useful. I am glad to see they are thinking about this.
- ashleyn 9mo ago
  How will this succeed where the Motorola Atrix failed way back in 2011? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/03/the-motorola-atrix-4g-jack-of-three-trades-master-of-one/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/03/the-motorola-atrix-4...
  - ortusdux 9mo ago
    How as adoption been for Samsung's DEX?
    - wronglebowski 9mo ago
      I've only used it when I'm in a pinch but it's handy. Blowing up mobile apps to a larger screen and multitasking isn't ideal certainly but I've been able to handle "email job" type activities while out of pocket. That said I've never heard of anyone else who's actually used it.
  - bsimpson 9mo ago
    ChromeOS has a bigger influence on the market than a random phone model from CES when Android was still establishing itself.
  - wat10000 9mo ago
    Phones were way less powerful 15 years ago and native software was much more important. A modern phone CPU running a browser on a larger screen takes care of a lot of what you need these days.
  - duffyjp 9mo ago
    My Moto Edge 2024 has "Ready For" which is basically this still today. I plug in the USB-C cable normally connected to my work MacBook and I instantly get a full desktop experience; mouse, keyboard and sound included. It's how I play Minecraft with my kids when they get the itch. Sometimes if I know I'm only gonna be zoning out on Youtube at night I'll use to to save a few watts too. It can do 1440p at 120hz, all on a really affordable phone. It's nice.
d_silin 9mo ago
Well, that would be nice, honestly - to have Android as another option for desktop OS. I remember there were some experiments to create a hardware laptop shell to insert smartphone into.
- d_silin 9mo ago
  Yep, it is called a "lapdock" now.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
ivell 9mo ago
If it comes with fully functional command line, unix utils and ability to install linux apps from different stores, that would be great OS.
- gf000 9mo ago
  That's already here. Android has native terminal in the developer settings and it even has a Wayland graphical environment. I have run Weston with a desktop chromium inside, playing a youtube video with sound.
  - dizhn 9mo ago
    But no root.
    - charcircuit 9mo ago
      A root account violates principle of least priviledge. With proper design a root account should not be needed.
      - dizhn 9mo ago
        True but accessing your own files, pinging, network management etc aren't included in the things an Android terminal user can do. Hence the need for root.
        charcircuit 9mo ago
        That sounds like more of a need to be able to share files and folders with the terminal app and for there to be a ping command callable from nonroot added.
        gf000 9mo ago
        /mnt/shared has access to your personal files and pinging just works. This is as the default 'droid' user, but I also have a root user (but that's only root within the terminal)
augusteo 9mo ago
The Chrome Extensions support is the interesting part here. That's often the dealbreaker for using mobile devices as computer replacements. Google's had this weird situation where Android and ChromeOS overlap more every year. At some point maintaining two operating systems with converging feature sets seems wasteful. My guess: ChromeOS probably survives for the education market where manageability matters more than capabilities. But for consumers? Android on a big screen with keyboard and mouse might just be good enough.
- oaiey 9mo ago
  It will not survive. No point in maintaining both. Just costs money. Device management for mobile phones is also a huge point. My educated guess: tablet/laptop hybrids with Android OS. Not that Apple has huge success with the same move
- supernes 9mo ago
  Any extensions that do something really "interesting" will be disallowed, cf. Manifest V3.
  - zb3 9mo ago
    I'm running AdGuard in Chromium right now. I don't see any ads, even on YouTube. May I ask what did you mean? Not that I don't think MV3 is limited, but.. we're comparing this against MV2, right? It was already missing basic functionality like full filtering of http responses, I remember a bug about not seeing POST bodies being open for 10+ years..
theLiminator 9mo ago
I wonder what gogole's strategy with fuchsia is going to be.
- Grazester 9mo ago
  What is currently is? As OS for home devices with a screen?
spwa4 9mo ago
So I'm guessing ... no full adblockers allowed?
- yjftsjthsd-h 9mo ago
  Android runs Firefox.
  - spwa4 9mo ago
    ... for now. I mean all Google's decisions are going the same way, and let's face it: Firefox stands in the way of their destination.
    - timbit42 9mo ago
      No Firefox increases their chance of being broken up for monopolization.
SimianSci 9mo ago
It really does look to be a rewrite of ChromeOS to make it a native Android experience with very few tweaks to the User experience that I can see. I think it's a good idea on Google's part. The trend of consumers using mobiles as their one and only computing experience is still strong. This will blend the experience consumers have between desktops and their primary computing platform.
- evanjrowley 9mo ago
  It's a trend with Apple as well. It can be seen in iOS/macOS 26 Tahoe. There's lots of untapped potential in those iPads with M-series CPUs. We've also had rumors of a "MacBook Air Lite" sporting a cellphone A-series CPU. The convergence is happening. I would love to be able to do more with my Google Pixel phone. Right now, the MacBook is my primary workstation, but the possibility of an even more "mobile" productivity setup is very enticing. Now if only I could get an Android tablet with the new "Terminal" feature in Android 15...
  - hu3 9mo ago
    I highly doubt Apple convergence is going to happen. A fully capable iPad would mean less sales of MacBook Air and so on. An iPhone with official docking Desktop UI also never going to happen. Same story.
    - fendy3002 9mo ago
      and you can't install apps as easy on iPhone than on mac right? That's 2 different world that Apple need to cross, and it's unlikely.
      - jabwd 9mo ago
        App instalation isn't really even the problem. It is just the capabilities you have that you do not have access to. a modern iPad can easily run macOS as an 'app', if you will. The kernel is there, the userland is there, just not the checkbox from up high. Even Xcode works well in macOS VMs nowadays.
gessha 9mo ago
It is interesting to consider the different developments happening with the big mobile orgs regarding the convergence computing paradigm: - Samsung’s Dex has been out for a while - independent devs have been working on Linux “as an app” for some time - Android desktop interface in this article - Apple developing video output on iPhones - Apple working on a Macbook with a mobile chip - another exciting thing is XR devices and mobile computing - my concern is convergence computing will reduce the importance of desktop interfaces and the freedom we have to install whatever applications we want
- freedomben 9mo ago
  > my concern is convergence computing will reduce the importance of desktop interfaces and the freedom we have to install whatever applications we want Yep, it absolutely will I expect. All the pieces are being or have been laid to build the new world where only a "trusted" device will be able to use the internet. Us nerds can still have our Linux, but it won't work with much of the internet because we won't be able to pass attestation. Building to that future is exactly what I would expect from Apple, but Google doing so has surprised me. Google doing so is also the thing that will bring it to pass, so there's a special seed of hatred for them germinating in my heart right now. Hopefully I'm just being alarmist and paranoid, but I really don't think I am. Some Refs: Web Environment Integrity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Environment_Integrity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Environment_Integrity Private Access Token: https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=huqjyh7k https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=huqjyh7k
  - NewsaHackO 9mo ago
    I think tech companies are realizing that the biggest "mistake" they have ever made was giving so much freedom to the desktop user. They hate that we can look into, modify, and delete files, hate that we can add custom-made software, and hate that we can identify and turn off tracking/telemetry. They realized this with the mobile platform and locked everything down, but by that time it was already too late.
    - 9mo ago
mmmlinux 9mo ago
I don't want a Chromebook with extra steps I want a real computer.
monegator 9mo ago
What is it with everybody and the goddamn rounded corners?
whalesalad 9mo ago
so... gnome?
kelnos 9mo ago
I enjoy cool features like this, but as usual, I'm wary of the consequences. Android is becoming more and more locked down like iOS. Even if it weren't, it's still always been more locked down than a standard desktop or laptop machine running an operating system of the user's choice. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, already I see non- and semi-technical users often dropping their laptop or desktop and just using their phone or tablet. (I know people who don't even have a laptop/desktop anymore.) Android having a full desktop interface will just add fuel to this fire, and further normalize running a locked-down OS and device that users don't truly own or control as their only computing platform.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
- ssl-3 9mo ago
  It wasn't always so locked-down as it is today. The OG Motorola Droid, for example: While it clearly wasn't a design intent, there was really nothing of any gravity to stop people from using it in any way they wished. Rooting was a simple matter of running a hacked su command, and voila: One becomes root. The bootloader wasn't locked at all. Custom kernels and userlands were normal. It was a great little pocket computer to goof around with for anyone who cared enough to give it a swing. Just install the "missing" su binary and...done. At the time, I felt that this was a perfectly acceptable way to keep it working reliably for regular folk.
  - palata 9mo ago
    In a way I don't know what I think about them preventing me from modifying "their" certified OS. Many products do that (if I buy a Marshall smartspeaker, it's not like if I can modify the software, is it?). What I want is to be able to properly install an alternative OS (just like I don't care about what Windows or macOS do, as long as I can install Linux), and that goes with the bootloader unlocking/locking.
    - bluGill 9mo ago
AuthAuth 9mo ago
The visual design is just so bad. Its so ugly and souless. I actually feel bad for the UI designer that had to put their name behind that.
- junofan 9mo ago
  Looks great. Hope the team polishes it up before release. The visual nits in shipping Google products make my eyes bleed.
- WarmWash 9mo ago
  Unfortunately, it's just generally true that when a bunch of engineers complain about your UI, it probably will be well received by regular people.
- tty456 9mo ago
  What would you want to see different from this? is there an OS that actually looks good?
  - carlosjobim 9mo ago
    MacOS up until Catalina Windows 7 with the Shine 2.0 theme Gnome Adwaita QNX Photon 6 BeOS R5 I'm sure there's more good examples. People here will say Windows 2000, but I don't think it has any grace.
  - AuthAuth 9mo ago
    I'm not a visual designer but heres what I think is making it look so bad. The task bar is way to thick. The flat design of the icons needs some shadows or something to make them pop a bit. The rounding on the corners is way to much and needes to be dialed back significantly. There is both a top bar and a bottom bar, pick one ffs dont waste screenspace with both. Also top bar is transparent while bottom is fat and grey. I'd keep the top bar and scrap the bottom. As far as OS's that look good, #1 KDE Plasma with breeze, MacOS snow leopard, Windows xp and vista.
  - spartanatreyu 9mo ago
    Right off the bat: 1. Those loading spinners being bumpy pulled my eyes around the screen wildly to the point that they were experiencing pain. They need to be removed. 2. There is a status bar along the top, and an application launcher docked at the bottom. That's way too much vertical space being used, especially on laptops (which I'd wager is going to be the most used viewing modality for this OS). It should be merged into a single bar along one side of the screen. 3. The dropdown at the top left of each window seems to be taking up a lot of space. Especially when you're trying to fit four tabs on the screen. Get rid of it so the tabs can actually be read. 4. At 27 seconds in, there are two close icons in the focused window. That being bad could be a presentation all in itself. 5. Random padding in the status bar.
nish__ 9mo ago
It looks really good.
mvdtnz 9mo ago
I don't even want Android on my phone. I cannot imagine a universe where I want it on my computer.
SirMaster 9mo ago
So would it make sense to sell a folding plastic shell with screen, keyboard and trackpad in it that you can bring in your bag and pull out to plug your phone into it?
- 46493168 9mo ago
  This form factor was tried before and it didn’t stick. Why should it be brought back now?
  - neals 9mo ago
    I think the point is that software wasn't ready and now it might be.
  - SirMaster 9mo ago
    I guess I fail to see where people will use this then. Where are there going to be setups where they can plug the 3 things into their phone that aren't already a computer that you can just use as-is?
    - 46493168 9mo ago
      This is to replace ChromeOS.
    - kohbo 9mo ago
      I'm using this right now on a work trip. Since I don't want to use my work computer for personal stuff, I carry a small bag that has a mouse, small keyboard, USB-C hub, and USB-C to HDMI cable. I set that up while I'm in my hotel room and use my Fold7 as a personal laptop. The items mentioned are all kept neatly in that small bag and it just sits at the bottom of my work bag until I want to use them.
  - jeroenhd 9mo ago
    Last time, the hardware was barely capable of driving a 1080p display at a constant frame rate with more than one app open. These days, phones are more powerful than the laptops they give to kids to study on. Samsung DeX has existed for years and works as well as it has for ages. We don't need to wait on Google to make this work. At best, Google will make this type of tech available in software so you can Chromecast/Miracast/whatever it to your display when your cheap phone doesn't do DP-Alt mode. What I think this is more likely to be about is ChromeOS being killed and Android taking its place. It's not secret that Google is working on that, this just seems to be someone dogfeeding the latest build of the desktop Android build.
guerrilla 9mo ago
God this looks like a nightmare. Using Android on a desktop would be a fascist dystopia. Using it on phones is bad enough, computing while wearing a straight-jacket, but now they're going to have complete control of our computers and spy on everything we do on it? I can't imagine a worse outcome for the PC.
lolcw 9mo ago
It has windows, icons, taskbar and chrome. Seems like desktop to me!
Dig1t 9mo ago
What ever happened to fuscia? Wasn’t that supposed to be their long term OS for desktop?
- nwah1 9mo ago
  Seemed potentially like a new kernel, rather than a new OS, and thus potentially a replacement for the Android kernel one day. But that would mean all of the Android SDKs would need to be abstracted away from Linux, but it seems like they abandoned some of that effort and are mostly just emulating Android on Fuschia for now.
unixhero 9mo ago
I already have Samsung Dex. Is that the same as this?
- jeroenhd 9mo ago
  Samsung made DeX at some point for the exact same purpose, but that's a Samsung special. Google already has this in their Pixel phones (8+). Plug a Pixel into a standard laptop dock (may need to enter dev settings and tick the "force desktop mode" toggle) and you're welcomed by pretty much exactly this UI.
  - unixhero 9mo ago
    Yeah back in 2019
modeless 9mo ago
They ought to put the status bar at the bottom. All the designers using Macs probably forgot, but Chrome's tab interface was designed for Windows where it could be all the way at the top of the screen. And in general it's more common for desktop apps designed for mouse and keyboard to have frequently accessed UI elements at the top of the window than the bottom. So desktop apps would benefit from being able to use that real estate at the very top of the screen. This is what you lose when you take a team developing a desktop OS and move it under a team doing a mobile OS.
- jeroenhd 9mo ago
  Auto-hide the task bar at the bottom, and you've basically got the Gnome UI. Works just fine. It's the permanent screen reservation of the double task bar that really eats up the usable desk space. Samsung's task bar (when you enable the DeX integration on a tablet) also supports this and it makes for a fine user experience. Edit: I've enabled "force desktop mode" on my Pixel 9 Pro and hooked it up to my laptop dock. The UI looks almost exactly the same already. Taskbar at the bottom, notification bar at the top. It's clearly experimental; my ultrawide screen scales horribly, my keyboard app gets horribly confused, and interacting with the top bar triggers a full-screen tablet overlay that looks a bit weird. However, Chrome opens multiple windows and browses just fine. There are right-click menus, mouse hover interactions, window resizing features (though some apps require the "force resizable activities" flag). Ethernet Just Works, audio/video just works, and I can operate my phone screen while working in dock mode (so apps that absolutely refuse to work can still be operated through the touch screen).
  - Miraste 9mo ago
    Inexplicably, Samsung removed the ability to hide the taskbar with One UI 8 last year.
    - bergie 9mo ago
      They rebuilt DeX on Google's desktop codebase. So obviously a lot of features were lost. Hopefully what we'll gain is wider app support.
OldMatey 9mo ago
My Huawei P20 Pro did this in 2018. It was fabulous, turned the OS into a mini-computer with a taskbar, desktop, icons, browser etc. It was still the best phone Ive ever owned (and I used to work at Google). It was no wonder Google killed with GSM. It was light years ahead even back then and they really hate competition.
jokoon 9mo ago
with win11, it's an opportunity to take the desktop market
zb3 9mo ago
The good part about this is they've invested in bringing extensions support to Chrome.. of course only those "desktop" builds, but the code is there and for now you can use this on normal Android - if you compile it for yourself or download the Chromium APK. I wonder whether they'll keep pretending that extensions are not supported on Android, perhaps even intentionally breaking support on mobile.. or maybe they'll stop this madness and just support extensions officially..
bossyTeacher 9mo ago
I wonder what does this mean for the attestation layer? If you can run banking apps on a desktop, this would be a massive game changer for many of us who only use normie OSes because of the need to use services that are mobile app only (or with functionally limited web apps). Means we would only need to keep a single phone rather than two
theodric 9mo ago
Lot of wasted space. The status bar and dock/switcher could easily be on one line.
aa_is_op 9mo ago
Is this meant to replace ChromeOS or will it actually be open-source for real?
nipperkinfeet 9mo ago
Put it straight into Killed by Google.
sbinnee 9mo ago
Is that tiling window management by default? Huh, finally the right choice to maximize small display area for laptop!
- smlacy 9mo ago
  Been true on most chromeos devices for a while!
dev1ycan 9mo ago
Why on Earth would anyone wilingly use an OS where Google thinks they have the right to block or make it really hard to install non App Store apps? even if initially they allow you, they've shown their plan.
stuaxo 9mo ago
Maybe they will sort out how terrible it is to try and use a keyboard or keyboard like (i.e. remote control on android TV) on Android apps, I hold out little hope. It's like nobody tests focus + navigation at all.
userbinator 9mo ago
Essentially a clone of Windows 11, and those screenshots make me realise just how much I hate the rounded corners, borderless vagueness, and excess padding of "modern" UI. For contrast, this UI is more my style: https://serenityos.org/screenshot-b36968c.png https://serenityos.org/screenshot-b36968c.png
- fabiensanglard 9mo ago
  SerenityOS GUI is a dream
- encom 9mo ago
  I too love that style, but it won't work today, because many apps today are Electron slop that disregards user preference and styles itself.
- thiht 9mo ago
  Is this serious? Looking at this I feel both bored to death (think "Severance gray office hell" boredom) AND overwhelmed because of the tons of decorations and useless creases and crappy icons and awful text and unnecessary affordances that only made sense 30 years ago when no one knew how to use a computer. Ugh
  - ulrikrasmussen 9mo ago
    I agree with the parent comment, but I understand that someone who did not grow up with UIs that looked like that would think otherwise. I do feel that Windows 2000 was peak UI for desktop operating systems, but it's probably due to a combination of nostalgia and the fact that I deeply dislike modern Electron-based UIs with too few decorations and an overly minimalistic and non-customizable "we know best" attitude.
- mb2100 9mo ago
  Tell me you're nostalgic for Win95 without telling me...
evolighting 9mo ago
Windows keeps getting worse, but it's still not as bad as Android. It's like how an iPad with macOS would be great, but a MacBook with iOS would be terrible. I've been using Fedora part-time and I'm quite happy with it. Although I access the Android ecosystem via Waydroid—which, I know, isn't a true 'Android desktop'—the reality is that few Android apps are actually designed for a desktop experience. Android makes me feel like it wants to convince me that rooting is considered too dangerous even for advanced users—you have to be a developer to handle it, or you will kill yourself. But it might be good news for the ARM platform. Given how fragmented ARM is, Windows on ARM has turned out to be an even bigger disaster, making a Linux-based approach a much more promising alternative.
RandomTeaParty 9mo ago
Cookie banner doesn't have reject-all button Isn't that against the rules nowadays?
- hulitu 9mo ago
  The rule based world order is over. /s
pipeline_peak 9mo ago
ChromeOS is 14 years old, not really sure why they’re just now going this route. Android laptops are nothing new, unless you don’t count the crappy low end ones that have no business running it. I’m sure Google will make their flagship apps nicely tailored but regular phone centric apps has to be an awkward experience.
- resoluteteeth 9mo ago
  I like ChromeOS but really having two different operating systems is a liability. Despite all the effort they've put into it, chromeOS is worse at running Android apps than android tablets except for support for having them in resizable windows. All they need to do is improve the support for a laptop mode on android and make chrome on android in the laptop mode equivalent to chrome on ChromeOS and they can kill ChromeOS entirely. It makes no sense to have to choose between two operating systems You should be able to get a fully compatible android like experience in tablet mode and a chromebook like experience in laptop mode all in one os And the ChromeOS like experience should be available on any android tablet if you use it with a keyboard
batrat 9mo ago
Samsung should not give up DEX, is mature and works exceptionally well with applications that are supported (wireless DEX with my samsung tv works great). Knowing Google, they will give up after 5 iterations or updates will be very slow. It is good for the ecosystem, I hope it will become more mainstream.
- fhcbix 9mo ago
  Dex and Android desktop mode are not a single new thing, but multiple features that partially have been in Android for years, like external screens, resizable windows and the (currently rather limited) external screen drawer.
gethly 9mo ago
i prefer google to spy on my entire computer instead of microsoft.
hulitu 9mo ago
It looks like Win 11 with notification bar at top. Good job Google. Trully a revolutionary design, just like Android 4. /s
usagisushi 9mo ago
Tried the desktop mode on my Pixel 8 running GrapheneOS. It's getting very close to being usable. https://imgur.com/a/Wfv6Hmt https://imgur.com/a/Wfv6Hmt
- impure-aqua 9mo ago
  On my Pixel 9a (also on GrapheneOS) the biggest limitation is it can't be set to higher than 1080p, and the upscaling algorithm with my 4K display (not sure where in the chain that happens, monitor or phone) was quite terrible to the point of text legibility being a concern. The usage experience otherwise is quite good, it's perhaps my preferred way to sync data to and from my phone, I have it all stored on a NAS so I connect to my Type-C display (which has keyboard, mouse, and ethernet connected to its switch), fire up a terminal, type in my rsync commands, and my pictures & music are synced ~instantly at LAN speeds.
- dannyfritz07 9mo ago
  Dang. is that tmux, cmatrix, mise, and node running on your android device? Or is that an ssh session?
  - usagisushi 9mo ago
    Actually, it's the Android 16 Linux Terminal (pKVM) [1], so it's 100% on-device. Since this is a full VM, unlike Termux, you can run Docker too! (Though Termux is more stable and lightweight for daily use.) [1]: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-linux-terminal-doom-3521804/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-linux-terminal-d...
- ActorNightly 9mo ago
  I use Samsung Dex all the time on my S25. Got rid of my laptop completely. Best part is, I can make "apps" on the fly that I can use from my phone with termux integration.
qwertox 9mo ago
Is there really a reason to get excited about this? When we look at the path they took with Android on the phones, why should we believe that they will be any different from Microsoft on the desktop?
- hollerith 9mo ago
  It is relatively easy to make a secure OS. What is terribly expensive in developer labor is a secure OS that runs a mainstream browser well. Android is an open-source OS that runs a mainstream browser well and is about 100 times more secure than any other open-source Linux distro -- except ChromiumOS. But for some reason, no vibrant open-source project ever formed around ChromiumOS whereas a vibrant open-source project (namely GrapheneOS) has formed around the Android open-source project.
nightski 9mo ago
No thanks to SpyOS.
estimator7292 9mo ago
Oh, so it's just yet another MacOS clone. Can somebody, anybody have one single unique idea?

289 points by thunderbong 9mo ago

paul_h 9mo ago

Exciting .. I'm typing on that HP Dragonfly now :) Google - put me in the testing group pls - Paul H

Klaster_1 9mo ago

I don't want a "PC future" where you can't just install software without OS vendor blessing.

netdevphoenix 9mo ago
Neither do I. But with Windows slipping badly, Google could start encroaching on their core tech.
- torben-friis 9mo ago
  Linux seems to be gaining a lot of traction, both with the fall of windows and gaming being more than feasible. It makes sense for the tech savvy option to succeed, now that personal computing is disappearing. Average folks won’t use a windows/macbook, they’ll use phones and tablets. My only concern is ending in a macOS+asahi situation where supporting a single device requires mountains of effort.
  - Loughla 9mo ago
    The fall of windows and Linux gaining traction. I've seen that written on here, Reddit, /., digg, hell even on usenet back in the day. . . .
    - LorenDB 9mo ago
      And yet it's undeniable that 2025 had some of the biggest Linux hype in recent times: - Windows 10 went EOL and triggered a wave of people moving to Linux to escape Windows 11 - DHH's adventures in Linux inspired a lot of people (including some popular coding streamers/YouTubers) to try Linux - Pewdiepie made multiple videos about switching to Linux and selfhosting - Bazzite reported serving 1 PB of downloads in one month - Zorin reported 1M downloads of ZorinOS 18 in one month and crossed the 2M threshold in under 3 months - I personally recall seeing a number of articles from various media outlets of writers trying Linux and being pretty impressed with how good it was - And don't forget Valve announced the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, which will both run Linux and have a ton of hype around them In fact, I think that we will look back in 5 or 10 years and point at 2025 as the turning point for Linux on the desktop.
    - torben-friis 9mo ago
      Yes, but have you seen you real life non tech friends move to Linux? I’m seeing it now, and this is new.
      - pjmlp 9mo ago
        Yes, and I also have seen they come back to Windows, when they got into issues sharing software or files with friends, or local goverment requirements, and didn't had a relative to do their IT support for free.
  - pjmlp 9mo ago
    The cycling speech since Window XP Toy's R US L&F days, unfortunely. Less fragmentation, more focus, OEM support on devices selling on regular stores is needed, otherwise we won't get away from the yearly meme.
    - flohofwoe 9mo ago
      > otherwise we won't get away from the yearly meme What's different in the last decade is that Windows is on an undeniable quality downward spiral, it's simply not important anymore for Microsoft. E.g. desktop Linux doesn't even need to improve, it just needs to wait for Windows to become worse ;)
      - pjmlp 9mo ago
        Unless it becomes available for normies to buy laptops with it pre-installed at Saturn, Media Market, FNAC, Cool Blue, and co, it won't matter. They aren't going to buy them from Tuxedo.
        flohofwoe 9mo ago
        "Normies" buy smartphones and maybe a tablet, neither of those has Windows preinstalled either.
        pjmlp 9mo ago
        Available at Saturn, Media Market, FNAC, Cool Blue show floor.
        flohofwoe 9mo ago
        ...and a market share of 0.02% ;) https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide (I guess those 'Windows tablets' are running under convertible laptops or something...)
- fc417fc802 9mo ago
  So just don't use windows? The only reason I use android to begin with is because the mobile centric distros I looked into didn't appear to be to the point I would want to daily drive them yet. If and when that changes I'll switch. The only real issue is sourcing good mobile hardware that isn't locked down. At least for the time being the pixel line satisfies that.
direwolf20 9mo ago
This is why Valve invested so much in Linux. They saw the writing on the wall of Microsoft becoming Apple (but shittier). Now they have an alternative. If Microsoft charges a 30% tax on all Steam transactions and won't let Steam run unless they do that, Valve can heavily push Linux and Steam Machine sales.
- pjmlp 9mo ago
  And yet they failed to get game devs to natively target SteamOS. As long as they depend on Proton, they haven't fully solved their problem.
  - flohofwoe 9mo ago
    Tbh, why bother? kernel32+user32+gdi32+d3d[11|12]+dxgi is a pretty great API abstraction for game development. And unlike Linux desktop APIs the Win32 APIs are actually stable, so those games will also work in 5 years, and most importantly, performance is the same or better than on Windows. It's unlikely that game devs directly targeting Vulkan would do any better, and when using a high level engine, any layering overhead in Proton is negligible anyway. And don't even get me started about the state of audio APIs on Linux ;) Also don't underestimate the amount of workarounds and tweaks that (most likely) go into Proton for games that make poor system API use. Without Proton those game-specific hacks would need to go into MESA, Wayland, X11 or various system audio libraries. At least Proton is one central place to accumulate all the game-specific warts in some dusty corner of their code base. TL;DR: just think of Proton as an extremely low level and slim cross-platform API for games (not all that different than SDL), and suddenly it makes a lot of sense. And I bet that in 5..10 years Windows will have regressed so much that it might actually be better to run games through a Proton-like shim even on Windows (assuming Windows hasn't become 'yet another Linux distro' by then anyway) ;)
    - LtWorf 9mo ago
      Try running a directx 5 game and let me know how it goes.
palata 9mo ago
Same, but my PC runs on Linux so I don't feel threatened. I feel like at some point normies may end up just using iPadOS or Android as a "convergent" device: a tablet/phone that they can plug into a docking station and use as a computer. I am sort of hoping that it will work with something like GrapheneOS, so that I will be able to benefit from it on my phone.
- orev 9mo ago
  > my PC runs on Linux so I don't feel threatened. Well, you should feel threatened. Where do you think the push towards TPM and secure boot is heading? Microsoft is insanely envious of how Apple and Google locked down their platforms and have total control over app stores, and that’s what Microsoft wants too. It’s a huge revenue stream they’re leaving on the table. Now that there’s precedent on mobile, they’ll have no problem pushing it through on desktop. And once all the normies have moved to iPads, there won’t be a big enough market for anyone to manufacture PC hardware for hobbyists anymore.
  - palata 9mo ago
    Right, I guess we agree but I was not clear. In general, I don't care so much if Windows or macOS become as locked as Android or iOS, as long as I can install Linux on my hardware. My point is that many people seem to complain because they want to be root on the Google-certified Android. I disagree with that: Google makes an OS where you cannot be root. If you want an OS where you can be root, you should be able to install another OS on the hardware you bought. Because you should own that hardware. But you don't own Google.
    - digiown 9mo ago
      The problem is more that you're forced to use Google's OS. Usually just less convenient, but often in a literal sense too with these government services increasingly requiring attestation.
      - palata 9mo ago

Aldipower 9mo ago

No thanks.

daoboy 9mo ago

Many years ago I used to play around with CyanogenMod and Linux. Life with work and a family became too busy to fuss with that stuff, but I'm rapidly approaching the point where abuse from android and Microsoft make using a less polished OS worth the bother.

mhitza 9mo ago
You'll be happy to hear then that the experience has improved significantly over the past decade.
- esperent 9mo ago
  Eh, it's better. But it's still a mess unless you're using a device specifically designed for Linux like a Steamdeck or Framework. Expect to spend a lot of time messing around in the console if you install on an arbitrary laptop that came with Windows installed. Wifi problems, sleep problems, external monitor problems, laptop screen brightness problems, graphics card problems.

GreenVulpine 9mo ago

Does it still require wiping your drive and enabling developer mode to install software outside the Play Store like ChromeOS does? DOA if so.

skybrian 9mo ago
I believe you can run Linux in a container and use apt-get. https://chromeos.dev/en/linux/setup https://chromeos.dev/en/linux/setup
- g947o 9mo ago
  Using applications with a GUI isn't a very enjoyable experience in that environment.

N_Lens 9mo ago

Google’s entire business is predicated on collecting as much data on users as possible. This OS will be the worst spyware imaginable.

titzer 9mo ago
No, only the 85% or so of it that's accreted since about 2008. Prior to that it actually made money by offering useful search results without infringing on user privacy. That core business model could still work to power a company about 1/8th the size of current Google. Current Google cannot survive on that model. Something went really wrong when it put growthism above all else.
- pwg 9mo ago
  > Something went really wrong What went wrong was Google (the old 'do no evil' Google) bought the ad network DoubleClick. The acquired DoubleClick side then took over old Google from the inside out such that what we have today is Doubleclick calling itself "google", no more 'do no evil' old Google anywhere, and all the evil that exists on the advertising side infesting everything they do.
g947o 9mo ago
That ship sailed many years ago with Windows 11, and Windows 10 to some extent. By the way, you forgot Android itself.

monologue6894 9mo ago

Some "first look" It's just a slightly different showcase of the same UI shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzDO-GS-Bm8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzDO-GS-Bm8 That UI is available to test on any Pixel 10 (maybe even any Android 16 device?)

jakub_g 9mo ago
I do have it in Pixel 8 after enabling in developer options. It's a bit buggy and low resolution, but does the job when e.g. I want to connect some video I'm already watching on mobile to the external display via USB-C. (You can connect a mouse via Bluetooth to the phone, or via a USB dongle plugged into your monitor, to control it.) An interesting thing is that you can run apps X and Y on desktop screen while also run app X on mobile screen independently.
- jakub_g 9mo ago
  *I meant "app Z on mobile screen", can't edit anymore.

Imustaskforhelp 9mo ago

If this allows one to still have (linux terminals?), then its (fine?) but Klaster_1 suggests that installing software would become hard without OS vendor blessing. I mean, is this OS literally just android with a more desktop like UI? Didn't Samsung have something like this called (just searched) Samsung Dex? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Samsung+DeX&t=ffab&ia=images&iax=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fimg-s-msn-com.akamaized.net%2Ftenant%2Famp%2Fentityid%2FAA1y2Xw4.img%3Fw%3D1920%26h%3D1079%26m%3D4%26q%3D79 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Samsung+DeX&t=ffab&ia=images&iax=i... What I would prefer is a linux device phone being more widespread than Android PC. Linux in PC is mostly pretty good. We probably need some good linux phones. One of the biggest issues I find is that they are really price-y so even though I don't want much specs, I find it troubling to justify a 2x price increase in such sense. > Didn't Samsung have something like this called (just searched) Samsung Dex?

realusername 9mo ago
Samsung Dex still exists and still sucks. It's probably the best desktop experience available on Android but it's nowhere near usable as a daily driver. It feels a like a lightweight window manager from the 2008 era.
- pjmlp 9mo ago
  It is good enough that a Samsung tablet has replaced my now dead netbook.
  - imp0cat 9mo ago
    Yeah, it is acceptable.

ndr 9mo ago

Chrome and Android look like yin and yang: one never knows which one is planned to run inside the other.

fanatic2pope 9mo ago

I have absolutely no interest in expanding the use of Android in my life. I am, in fact, far more interested in going the other way and trying to reduce my reliance on any locked down platforms.

fsflover 9mo ago
So you may want to consider GNU/Linux phones (Librem 5 and Pinephone). By the way, they have a real desktop mode with desktop apps, not mobile apps on a large screen.

Ronsenshi 9mo ago

Is it going to be the same future as Fuchsia OS? There were some good ideas in that one, but then one day it sort of disappeared. Not that that was surprising - Google is good at that.

bossyTeacher 9mo ago
I believe the Google Nest devices ship with Fuchsia
- LtWorf 9mo ago
  I'm sure they will be discontinued in a few days.
  - pjmlp 9mo ago
    See Android Things, does anyone still remember it, or Brillo that was originally supposed to be it?
    - IshKebab 9mo ago
      Yeah they failed pretty hard at least three times on the IoT front. To be fair I think they're finally making some kind of progress with Matter. About 10 years late, but still.
poisonborz 9mo ago
It was an experiment to keep bright engineers busy with cool ideas to show off.Even back then they could have known that it is not a viable idea to make a tectonic platform switch with not much business arguments for it.
- IshKebab 9mo ago
  I don't think so. Feels like it was more about getting away from Linux and all the driver issues it entails. It's a very long-term bet for sure.

DeathArrow 9mo ago

I don't want any kind of store on my PC.

Moomoomoo309 9mo ago

Oh, I see Google's angle now. They want to make android a viable desktop OS in order to have more users using android Chrome rather than Windows Chrome, because the former lacks extension support, and thus ad blockers. Of course, you can still install brave or kiwi browser or Firefox to your heart's content, but most people won't. It's brilliantly simple. It's not too bad for power users, they'll probably use a different browser, or for developers, given the work they're putting into the Linux containers, but for most users...we'll see the expected result.

yjftsjthsd-h 9mo ago
This shows a version of Chrome with extensions. > The Google Chrome interface mostly aligns with the current large-screen Android version except for the Extensions button, which is currently only available on the desktop browser.
- Moomoomoo309 9mo ago
  Wow, I don't know how I missed that. Guess that theory goes out the window!

solarkraft 9mo ago

The Android system is such a pain to work with. I’m curious to see whether they actually fixed the fundamentals making it unappealing for general purpose computing or they just stuck Android onto Chromebooks (guessing the latter).

giancarlostoro 9mo ago

Is this going to mean ChromeOS is going to eventually die or be merged with Android? Curious.

ashleyn 9mo ago
It appears ChromeOS is being killed and they're porting much of its feature set into Android. This may be marketed as "ChromeOS", with identical functionality, and consumers won't be none the wiser.

dfajgljsldkjag 9mo ago

This looks like it will help a lot of students and families who are on a budget. If you can just plug your phone into a screen you do not need to buy a separate laptop anymore. The browser extensions are the most important part because that is what makes a computer useful. I am glad to see they are thinking about this.

ashleyn 9mo ago
How will this succeed where the Motorola Atrix failed way back in 2011? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/03/the-motorola-atrix-4g-jack-of-three-trades-master-of-one/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/03/the-motorola-atrix-4...
- ortusdux 9mo ago
  How as adoption been for Samsung's DEX?
  - wronglebowski 9mo ago
    I've only used it when I'm in a pinch but it's handy. Blowing up mobile apps to a larger screen and multitasking isn't ideal certainly but I've been able to handle "email job" type activities while out of pocket. That said I've never heard of anyone else who's actually used it.
- bsimpson 9mo ago
  ChromeOS has a bigger influence on the market than a random phone model from CES when Android was still establishing itself.
- wat10000 9mo ago
  Phones were way less powerful 15 years ago and native software was much more important. A modern phone CPU running a browser on a larger screen takes care of a lot of what you need these days.
- duffyjp 9mo ago
  My Moto Edge 2024 has "Ready For" which is basically this still today. I plug in the USB-C cable normally connected to my work MacBook and I instantly get a full desktop experience; mouse, keyboard and sound included. It's how I play Minecraft with my kids when they get the itch. Sometimes if I know I'm only gonna be zoning out on Youtube at night I'll use to to save a few watts too. It can do 1440p at 120hz, all on a really affordable phone. It's nice.

d_silin 9mo ago

Well, that would be nice, honestly - to have Android as another option for desktop OS. I remember there were some experiments to create a hardware laptop shell to insert smartphone into.

d_silin 9mo ago
Yep, it is called a "lapdock" now.
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]

ivell 9mo ago

If it comes with fully functional command line, unix utils and ability to install linux apps from different stores, that would be great OS.

gf000 9mo ago
That's already here. Android has native terminal in the developer settings and it even has a Wayland graphical environment. I have run Weston with a desktop chromium inside, playing a youtube video with sound.
- dizhn 9mo ago
  But no root.
  - charcircuit 9mo ago
    A root account violates principle of least priviledge. With proper design a root account should not be needed.
    - dizhn 9mo ago
      True but accessing your own files, pinging, network management etc aren't included in the things an Android terminal user can do. Hence the need for root.
      - charcircuit 9mo ago
        That sounds like more of a need to be able to share files and folders with the terminal app and for there to be a ping command callable from nonroot added.
      - gf000 9mo ago
        /mnt/shared has access to your personal files and pinging just works. This is as the default 'droid' user, but I also have a root user (but that's only root within the terminal)

augusteo 9mo ago

The Chrome Extensions support is the interesting part here. That's often the dealbreaker for using mobile devices as computer replacements. Google's had this weird situation where Android and ChromeOS overlap more every year. At some point maintaining two operating systems with converging feature sets seems wasteful. My guess: ChromeOS probably survives for the education market where manageability matters more than capabilities. But for consumers? Android on a big screen with keyboard and mouse might just be good enough.

oaiey 9mo ago
It will not survive. No point in maintaining both. Just costs money. Device management for mobile phones is also a huge point. My educated guess: tablet/laptop hybrids with Android OS. Not that Apple has huge success with the same move
supernes 9mo ago
Any extensions that do something really "interesting" will be disallowed, cf. Manifest V3.
- zb3 9mo ago
  I'm running AdGuard in Chromium right now. I don't see any ads, even on YouTube. May I ask what did you mean? Not that I don't think MV3 is limited, but.. we're comparing this against MV2, right? It was already missing basic functionality like full filtering of http responses, I remember a bug about not seeing POST bodies being open for 10+ years..

theLiminator 9mo ago

I wonder what gogole's strategy with fuchsia is going to be.

Grazester 9mo ago
What is currently is? As OS for home devices with a screen?

spwa4 9mo ago

So I'm guessing ... no full adblockers allowed?

yjftsjthsd-h 9mo ago
Android runs Firefox.
- spwa4 9mo ago
  ... for now. I mean all Google's decisions are going the same way, and let's face it: Firefox stands in the way of their destination.
  - timbit42 9mo ago
    No Firefox increases their chance of being broken up for monopolization.

SimianSci 9mo ago

It really does look to be a rewrite of ChromeOS to make it a native Android experience with very few tweaks to the User experience that I can see. I think it's a good idea on Google's part. The trend of consumers using mobiles as their one and only computing experience is still strong. This will blend the experience consumers have between desktops and their primary computing platform.

evanjrowley 9mo ago
It's a trend with Apple as well. It can be seen in iOS/macOS 26 Tahoe. There's lots of untapped potential in those iPads with M-series CPUs. We've also had rumors of a "MacBook Air Lite" sporting a cellphone A-series CPU. The convergence is happening. I would love to be able to do more with my Google Pixel phone. Right now, the MacBook is my primary workstation, but the possibility of an even more "mobile" productivity setup is very enticing. Now if only I could get an Android tablet with the new "Terminal" feature in Android 15...
- hu3 9mo ago
  I highly doubt Apple convergence is going to happen. A fully capable iPad would mean less sales of MacBook Air and so on. An iPhone with official docking Desktop UI also never going to happen. Same story.
  - fendy3002 9mo ago
    and you can't install apps as easy on iPhone than on mac right? That's 2 different world that Apple need to cross, and it's unlikely.
    - jabwd 9mo ago
      App instalation isn't really even the problem. It is just the capabilities you have that you do not have access to. a modern iPad can easily run macOS as an 'app', if you will. The kernel is there, the userland is there, just not the checkbox from up high. Even Xcode works well in macOS VMs nowadays.

gessha 9mo ago

It is interesting to consider the different developments happening with the big mobile orgs regarding the convergence computing paradigm: - Samsung’s Dex has been out for a while - independent devs have been working on Linux “as an app” for some time - Android desktop interface in this article - Apple developing video output on iPhones - Apple working on a Macbook with a mobile chip - another exciting thing is XR devices and mobile computing - my concern is convergence computing will reduce the importance of desktop interfaces and the freedom we have to install whatever applications we want

freedomben 9mo ago
> my concern is convergence computing will reduce the importance of desktop interfaces and the freedom we have to install whatever applications we want Yep, it absolutely will I expect. All the pieces are being or have been laid to build the new world where only a "trusted" device will be able to use the internet. Us nerds can still have our Linux, but it won't work with much of the internet because we won't be able to pass attestation. Building to that future is exactly what I would expect from Apple, but Google doing so has surprised me. Google doing so is also the thing that will bring it to pass, so there's a special seed of hatred for them germinating in my heart right now. Hopefully I'm just being alarmist and paranoid, but I really don't think I am. Some Refs: Web Environment Integrity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Environment_Integrity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Environment_Integrity Private Access Token: https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=huqjyh7k https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=huqjyh7k
- NewsaHackO 9mo ago
  I think tech companies are realizing that the biggest "mistake" they have ever made was giving so much freedom to the desktop user. They hate that we can look into, modify, and delete files, hate that we can add custom-made software, and hate that we can identify and turn off tracking/telemetry. They realized this with the mobile platform and locked everything down, but by that time it was already too late.
  - 9mo ago

mmmlinux 9mo ago

I don't want a Chromebook with extra steps I want a real computer.

monegator 9mo ago

What is it with everybody and the goddamn rounded corners?

whalesalad 9mo ago

so... gnome?

kelnos 9mo ago

I enjoy cool features like this, but as usual, I'm wary of the consequences. Android is becoming more and more locked down like iOS. Even if it weren't, it's still always been more locked down than a standard desktop or laptop machine running an operating system of the user's choice. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, already I see non- and semi-technical users often dropping their laptop or desktop and just using their phone or tablet. (I know people who don't even have a laptop/desktop anymore.) Android having a full desktop interface will just add fuel to this fire, and further normalize running a locked-down OS and device that users don't truly own or control as their only computing platform.

deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
ssl-3 9mo ago
It wasn't always so locked-down as it is today. The OG Motorola Droid, for example: While it clearly wasn't a design intent, there was really nothing of any gravity to stop people from using it in any way they wished. Rooting was a simple matter of running a hacked su command, and voila: One becomes root. The bootloader wasn't locked at all. Custom kernels and userlands were normal. It was a great little pocket computer to goof around with for anyone who cared enough to give it a swing. Just install the "missing" su binary and...done. At the time, I felt that this was a perfectly acceptable way to keep it working reliably for regular folk.
- palata 9mo ago
  In a way I don't know what I think about them preventing me from modifying "their" certified OS. Many products do that (if I buy a Marshall smartspeaker, it's not like if I can modify the software, is it?). What I want is to be able to properly install an alternative OS (just like I don't care about what Windows or macOS do, as long as I can install Linux), and that goes with the bootloader unlocking/locking.
  - bluGill 9mo ago

AuthAuth 9mo ago

The visual design is just so bad. Its so ugly and souless. I actually feel bad for the UI designer that had to put their name behind that.

junofan 9mo ago
Looks great. Hope the team polishes it up before release. The visual nits in shipping Google products make my eyes bleed.
WarmWash 9mo ago
Unfortunately, it's just generally true that when a bunch of engineers complain about your UI, it probably will be well received by regular people.
tty456 9mo ago
What would you want to see different from this? is there an OS that actually looks good?
- carlosjobim 9mo ago
  MacOS up until Catalina Windows 7 with the Shine 2.0 theme Gnome Adwaita QNX Photon 6 BeOS R5 I'm sure there's more good examples. People here will say Windows 2000, but I don't think it has any grace.
- AuthAuth 9mo ago
  I'm not a visual designer but heres what I think is making it look so bad. The task bar is way to thick. The flat design of the icons needs some shadows or something to make them pop a bit. The rounding on the corners is way to much and needes to be dialed back significantly. There is both a top bar and a bottom bar, pick one ffs dont waste screenspace with both. Also top bar is transparent while bottom is fat and grey. I'd keep the top bar and scrap the bottom. As far as OS's that look good, #1 KDE Plasma with breeze, MacOS snow leopard, Windows xp and vista.
- spartanatreyu 9mo ago
  Right off the bat: 1. Those loading spinners being bumpy pulled my eyes around the screen wildly to the point that they were experiencing pain. They need to be removed. 2. There is a status bar along the top, and an application launcher docked at the bottom. That's way too much vertical space being used, especially on laptops (which I'd wager is going to be the most used viewing modality for this OS). It should be merged into a single bar along one side of the screen. 3. The dropdown at the top left of each window seems to be taking up a lot of space. Especially when you're trying to fit four tabs on the screen. Get rid of it so the tabs can actually be read. 4. At 27 seconds in, there are two close icons in the focused window. That being bad could be a presentation all in itself. 5. Random padding in the status bar.

nish__ 9mo ago

It looks really good.

mvdtnz 9mo ago

I don't even want Android on my phone. I cannot imagine a universe where I want it on my computer.

SirMaster 9mo ago

So would it make sense to sell a folding plastic shell with screen, keyboard and trackpad in it that you can bring in your bag and pull out to plug your phone into it?

46493168 9mo ago
This form factor was tried before and it didn’t stick. Why should it be brought back now?
- neals 9mo ago
  I think the point is that software wasn't ready and now it might be.
- SirMaster 9mo ago
  I guess I fail to see where people will use this then. Where are there going to be setups where they can plug the 3 things into their phone that aren't already a computer that you can just use as-is?
  - 46493168 9mo ago
    This is to replace ChromeOS.
  - kohbo 9mo ago
    I'm using this right now on a work trip. Since I don't want to use my work computer for personal stuff, I carry a small bag that has a mouse, small keyboard, USB-C hub, and USB-C to HDMI cable. I set that up while I'm in my hotel room and use my Fold7 as a personal laptop. The items mentioned are all kept neatly in that small bag and it just sits at the bottom of my work bag until I want to use them.
- jeroenhd 9mo ago
  Last time, the hardware was barely capable of driving a 1080p display at a constant frame rate with more than one app open. These days, phones are more powerful than the laptops they give to kids to study on. Samsung DeX has existed for years and works as well as it has for ages. We don't need to wait on Google to make this work. At best, Google will make this type of tech available in software so you can Chromecast/Miracast/whatever it to your display when your cheap phone doesn't do DP-Alt mode. What I think this is more likely to be about is ChromeOS being killed and Android taking its place. It's not secret that Google is working on that, this just seems to be someone dogfeeding the latest build of the desktop Android build.

guerrilla 9mo ago

God this looks like a nightmare. Using Android on a desktop would be a fascist dystopia. Using it on phones is bad enough, computing while wearing a straight-jacket, but now they're going to have complete control of our computers and spy on everything we do on it? I can't imagine a worse outcome for the PC.

lolcw 9mo ago

It has windows, icons, taskbar and chrome. Seems like desktop to me!

Dig1t 9mo ago

What ever happened to fuscia? Wasn’t that supposed to be their long term OS for desktop?

nwah1 9mo ago
Seemed potentially like a new kernel, rather than a new OS, and thus potentially a replacement for the Android kernel one day. But that would mean all of the Android SDKs would need to be abstracted away from Linux, but it seems like they abandoned some of that effort and are mostly just emulating Android on Fuschia for now.

unixhero 9mo ago

I already have Samsung Dex. Is that the same as this?

jeroenhd 9mo ago
Samsung made DeX at some point for the exact same purpose, but that's a Samsung special. Google already has this in their Pixel phones (8+). Plug a Pixel into a standard laptop dock (may need to enter dev settings and tick the "force desktop mode" toggle) and you're welcomed by pretty much exactly this UI.
- unixhero 9mo ago
  Yeah back in 2019

modeless 9mo ago

They ought to put the status bar at the bottom. All the designers using Macs probably forgot, but Chrome's tab interface was designed for Windows where it could be all the way at the top of the screen. And in general it's more common for desktop apps designed for mouse and keyboard to have frequently accessed UI elements at the top of the window than the bottom. So desktop apps would benefit from being able to use that real estate at the very top of the screen. This is what you lose when you take a team developing a desktop OS and move it under a team doing a mobile OS.

jeroenhd 9mo ago
Auto-hide the task bar at the bottom, and you've basically got the Gnome UI. Works just fine. It's the permanent screen reservation of the double task bar that really eats up the usable desk space. Samsung's task bar (when you enable the DeX integration on a tablet) also supports this and it makes for a fine user experience. Edit: I've enabled "force desktop mode" on my Pixel 9 Pro and hooked it up to my laptop dock. The UI looks almost exactly the same already. Taskbar at the bottom, notification bar at the top. It's clearly experimental; my ultrawide screen scales horribly, my keyboard app gets horribly confused, and interacting with the top bar triggers a full-screen tablet overlay that looks a bit weird. However, Chrome opens multiple windows and browses just fine. There are right-click menus, mouse hover interactions, window resizing features (though some apps require the "force resizable activities" flag). Ethernet Just Works, audio/video just works, and I can operate my phone screen while working in dock mode (so apps that absolutely refuse to work can still be operated through the touch screen).
- Miraste 9mo ago
  Inexplicably, Samsung removed the ability to hide the taskbar with One UI 8 last year.
  - bergie 9mo ago
    They rebuilt DeX on Google's desktop codebase. So obviously a lot of features were lost. Hopefully what we'll gain is wider app support.

OldMatey 9mo ago

My Huawei P20 Pro did this in 2018. It was fabulous, turned the OS into a mini-computer with a taskbar, desktop, icons, browser etc. It was still the best phone Ive ever owned (and I used to work at Google). It was no wonder Google killed with GSM. It was light years ahead even back then and they really hate competition.

jokoon 9mo ago

with win11, it's an opportunity to take the desktop market

zb3 9mo ago

The good part about this is they've invested in bringing extensions support to Chrome.. of course only those "desktop" builds, but the code is there and for now you can use this on normal Android - if you compile it for yourself or download the Chromium APK. I wonder whether they'll keep pretending that extensions are not supported on Android, perhaps even intentionally breaking support on mobile.. or maybe they'll stop this madness and just support extensions officially..

bossyTeacher 9mo ago

I wonder what does this mean for the attestation layer? If you can run banking apps on a desktop, this would be a massive game changer for many of us who only use normie OSes because of the need to use services that are mobile app only (or with functionally limited web apps). Means we would only need to keep a single phone rather than two

theodric 9mo ago

Lot of wasted space. The status bar and dock/switcher could easily be on one line.

aa_is_op 9mo ago

Is this meant to replace ChromeOS or will it actually be open-source for real?

nipperkinfeet 9mo ago

Put it straight into Killed by Google.

sbinnee 9mo ago

Is that tiling window management by default? Huh, finally the right choice to maximize small display area for laptop!

smlacy 9mo ago
Been true on most chromeos devices for a while!

dev1ycan 9mo ago

Why on Earth would anyone wilingly use an OS where Google thinks they have the right to block or make it really hard to install non App Store apps? even if initially they allow you, they've shown their plan.

stuaxo 9mo ago

Maybe they will sort out how terrible it is to try and use a keyboard or keyboard like (i.e. remote control on android TV) on Android apps, I hold out little hope. It's like nobody tests focus + navigation at all.

userbinator 9mo ago

Essentially a clone of Windows 11, and those screenshots make me realise just how much I hate the rounded corners, borderless vagueness, and excess padding of "modern" UI. For contrast, this UI is more my style: https://serenityos.org/screenshot-b36968c.png https://serenityos.org/screenshot-b36968c.png

fabiensanglard 9mo ago
SerenityOS GUI is a dream
encom 9mo ago
I too love that style, but it won't work today, because many apps today are Electron slop that disregards user preference and styles itself.
thiht 9mo ago
Is this serious? Looking at this I feel both bored to death (think "Severance gray office hell" boredom) AND overwhelmed because of the tons of decorations and useless creases and crappy icons and awful text and unnecessary affordances that only made sense 30 years ago when no one knew how to use a computer. Ugh
- ulrikrasmussen 9mo ago
  I agree with the parent comment, but I understand that someone who did not grow up with UIs that looked like that would think otherwise. I do feel that Windows 2000 was peak UI for desktop operating systems, but it's probably due to a combination of nostalgia and the fact that I deeply dislike modern Electron-based UIs with too few decorations and an overly minimalistic and non-customizable "we know best" attitude.
mb2100 9mo ago
Tell me you're nostalgic for Win95 without telling me...

evolighting 9mo ago

Windows keeps getting worse, but it's still not as bad as Android. It's like how an iPad with macOS would be great, but a MacBook with iOS would be terrible. I've been using Fedora part-time and I'm quite happy with it. Although I access the Android ecosystem via Waydroid—which, I know, isn't a true 'Android desktop'—the reality is that few Android apps are actually designed for a desktop experience. Android makes me feel like it wants to convince me that rooting is considered too dangerous even for advanced users—you have to be a developer to handle it, or you will kill yourself. But it might be good news for the ARM platform. Given how fragmented ARM is, Windows on ARM has turned out to be an even bigger disaster, making a Linux-based approach a much more promising alternative.

RandomTeaParty 9mo ago

Cookie banner doesn't have reject-all button Isn't that against the rules nowadays?

hulitu 9mo ago
The rule based world order is over. /s

pipeline_peak 9mo ago

ChromeOS is 14 years old, not really sure why they’re just now going this route. Android laptops are nothing new, unless you don’t count the crappy low end ones that have no business running it. I’m sure Google will make their flagship apps nicely tailored but regular phone centric apps has to be an awkward experience.

resoluteteeth 9mo ago
I like ChromeOS but really having two different operating systems is a liability. Despite all the effort they've put into it, chromeOS is worse at running Android apps than android tablets except for support for having them in resizable windows. All they need to do is improve the support for a laptop mode on android and make chrome on android in the laptop mode equivalent to chrome on ChromeOS and they can kill ChromeOS entirely. It makes no sense to have to choose between two operating systems You should be able to get a fully compatible android like experience in tablet mode and a chromebook like experience in laptop mode all in one os And the ChromeOS like experience should be available on any android tablet if you use it with a keyboard

batrat 9mo ago

Samsung should not give up DEX, is mature and works exceptionally well with applications that are supported (wireless DEX with my samsung tv works great). Knowing Google, they will give up after 5 iterations or updates will be very slow. It is good for the ecosystem, I hope it will become more mainstream.

fhcbix 9mo ago
Dex and Android desktop mode are not a single new thing, but multiple features that partially have been in Android for years, like external screens, resizable windows and the (currently rather limited) external screen drawer.

gethly 9mo ago

i prefer google to spy on my entire computer instead of microsoft.

hulitu 9mo ago

It looks like Win 11 with notification bar at top. Good job Google. Trully a revolutionary design, just like Android 4. /s

usagisushi 9mo ago

Tried the desktop mode on my Pixel 8 running GrapheneOS. It's getting very close to being usable. https://imgur.com/a/Wfv6Hmt https://imgur.com/a/Wfv6Hmt

impure-aqua 9mo ago
On my Pixel 9a (also on GrapheneOS) the biggest limitation is it can't be set to higher than 1080p, and the upscaling algorithm with my 4K display (not sure where in the chain that happens, monitor or phone) was quite terrible to the point of text legibility being a concern. The usage experience otherwise is quite good, it's perhaps my preferred way to sync data to and from my phone, I have it all stored on a NAS so I connect to my Type-C display (which has keyboard, mouse, and ethernet connected to its switch), fire up a terminal, type in my rsync commands, and my pictures & music are synced ~instantly at LAN speeds.
dannyfritz07 9mo ago
Dang. is that tmux, cmatrix, mise, and node running on your android device? Or is that an ssh session?
- usagisushi 9mo ago
  Actually, it's the Android 16 Linux Terminal (pKVM) [1], so it's 100% on-device. Since this is a full VM, unlike Termux, you can run Docker too! (Though Termux is more stable and lightweight for daily use.) [1]: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-linux-terminal-doom-3521804/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-16-linux-terminal-d...
ActorNightly 9mo ago
I use Samsung Dex all the time on my S25. Got rid of my laptop completely. Best part is, I can make "apps" on the fly that I can use from my phone with termux integration.

qwertox 9mo ago

Is there really a reason to get excited about this? When we look at the path they took with Android on the phones, why should we believe that they will be any different from Microsoft on the desktop?

hollerith 9mo ago
It is relatively easy to make a secure OS. What is terribly expensive in developer labor is a secure OS that runs a mainstream browser well. Android is an open-source OS that runs a mainstream browser well and is about 100 times more secure than any other open-source Linux distro -- except ChromiumOS. But for some reason, no vibrant open-source project ever formed around ChromiumOS whereas a vibrant open-source project (namely GrapheneOS) has formed around the Android open-source project.

nightski 9mo ago

No thanks to SpyOS.

estimator7292 9mo ago

Oh, so it's just yet another MacOS clone. Can somebody, anybody have one single unique idea?