Having a Samsung phone has its perks, and one of them is Samsung DeX. It turns a Galaxy phone into a desktop, and you can use it wirelessly or wired. The only thing you’d need is a screen, since you cannot use DeX on your phone’s screen. Dextop fixes this issue. This free, open-source app builds a desktop-style workspace right on your phone’s screen, with resizable windows and saved layouts, and you don’t need a PC to use it.
I’ve already written about how DeX got better after One UI 8.5, and my colleague has shared how it only got better with One UI 9, so I was curious about what a community-built app could pull off.
Dextop gives your phone its own desktop
It builds a virtual display right on the phone
Dextop is a free app that creates a virtual display and fills it with a desktop-style workspace, all right on your phone. Behind the scenes, it leans on Stellar or Shizuku and Android’s own system services to handle app launching, window placement, touch input, and screen orientation.
You don’t need a computer, and you don’t need to plug into a monitor either. So, you can carry your desktop anywhere, without worrying about a screen and a cable. I’ll be honest: I was skeptical at first. A desktop on a phone screen sounds cramped. However, once I started using it, putting a browser and a notes app side by side and typing in one while reading the other, it started to make sense.
Dextop lets you pick the resolution, density, and orientation of your virtual display. Apps inside it open in free-form windows, and you have the liberty to arrange them like you would on a PC. You can even change the orientation: Portrait, landscape, and 180-degree rotation are all supported.
Additionally, you can save a group of apps and their window positions as a workspace, and bring everything back with just one tap. So, if you’ve got a setup for your work with a browser, a notes app, and a video player, you just build it once and reload it whenever you need it. Dextop supports two-, three-, and four-pane layouts, and you can import and export workspaces as JSON files.
- OS
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Android
- Price model
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Free
Dextop is an Android app that brings a desktop-like experience to your smartphone, allowing you to run apps in resizable floating windows and multitask more efficiently. It offers a PC-inspired interface with customizable workspace features, making your phone feel more like a desktop computer.
Get laptop mode on foldables
Control it your way
Another good thing about Dextop is that you’re not stuck with touch only. It offers direct touch, a virtual touchpad, a virtual mouse, and a software cursor. Meaning, you can perform all actions like right-click, drag, scroll with two fingers, and pinch to zoom. On supported devices, you can also connect your physical mouse and keyboard and get a desktop-like feel.
When you do a three-finger swipe from the edge, it opens the control overlay. From here, you can switch input modes, change brightness or volume, adjust resolution, or end the session without closing your apps.
For folks that own a foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold series, you get a special treat. When you half-open the phone, Dextop can keep the top half as your desktop and turn the bottom half into a keyboard and trackpad. A true desktop experience, though quite compact. The Play Store listing says you can even cast the desktop with Google Cast or record only the Dextop display.
A few steps and you’re done
It doesn’t support every device
Dextop works best on Samsung Galaxy phones. However, the picture gets messier outside Samsung. According to the GitHub listing, Pixel 8 and later are supported, but Pixel support is limited and incomplete. Dextop only partially supports Google Pixel 9a, and the Sony Xperia 1 III is not supported at all.
So, if you don’t own a Samsung, treat Dextop as an experiment. If you’ve got a recent Pixel and a spare monitor, Google’s own Desktop Mode on Pixel 8 and newer is the safer pick.
Once you’ve sorted your phones, here’s how you can set Dextop on your phone:
- Get Dextop from Google Play. You’ll also need Shizuku or Stellar running. The developer recommends Stellar, especially on Android 16 or later, and the app has a button that downloads it from GitHub.
- Unlock Developer options on your mobile by following these steps. Inside the Developer options menu, you need to turn on Wireless debugging.
- Open Shizuku and tap the Pairing button. Enter the code in your notification panel to complete pairing. If you are opting for Shizuku, which is what I did, you’ll need to perform the pairing steps again after every reboot.
- Choose a resolution and orientation, and tap Start.
It will ask you for some permissions which you need to provide if you wish to experience the full capabilities of Dextop.
Give it a go if you want to bring a desktop to your phone
For the best experience, I’d recommend a recent Samsung Galaxy, especially a foldable, and a love of tinkering. You get a real multi-window desktop with zero extra hardware, which is hard to beat for a free app. If you’ve already explored other reasons to use Samsung DeX, Dextop is a natural next step. Do keep in mind, though, that Dextop won’t replace your desktop setup or laptop. However, it gives you proof that your phone can do more than you think.