Its been years that, they’ve been showing progress on this, and it’s always so far out.
Can’t wait for it to arrive and grant us the nirvana of Linux vms in desktop mode.
Laptops and phones are going to converge at some point. It’s inevitable. Having used an Android device as a portable computer before, it’s workable. Especially with x windows. But it’s kind of clunky.
Of all the companies in all the world, Google is the last company I’d want working on a feature like this, for hella obvious reasons. If it isn’t immediately adopted, super-hyped, and constantly worshipped, they will either let it stagnant in development hell or outright kill it in the end.
Better late than never, I guess. I really don’t understand why this isn’t more of a thing.
I think the market for it really isn’t there for a few reasons.
Performance is questionable, depending on the apps. Android isn’t really a desktop (or even laptop) OS from a UI standpoint. Tied to this, Android apps aren’t designed around desktop use.
Then we have laptops that have come a very long way in the last ten years, where battery life now approaches tablet OS (my newest laptops run all day, which is what my iPad does if I use it all day like a laptop). Considering the battery life equivalence, I get a lot more functionality from a desktop OS per charge cycle than I do from a mobile OS (not by watts, but by how often I need to charge).
I used to take my iPad with me on trips when I needed a little more than phone functionality, but not desktop. Now my laptop is marginally larger and heavier than an iPad with a keyboard case, and it charges from the same USB C cable as my phone.
All this seems to be something this idea returns to every time it comes around. Having a single device sounds brilliant, but I’d have to carry a dock anyway, so there’s not really a benefit in the end, may as well carry a laptop too.
It adapts Android’s tablet windowing for external displays but likely won’t launch with Android 16, possibly arriving in a quarterly release or with Android 17.
This project seems to be going on for years now - and still not in sight for a public release.
Why work on features when you can overhaul the UI, and release it as major update every few years?
Anyone remember the Moto Lapdock from like 15 years ago? This is better, for sure, but that’s a pretty long road from there to here!
Yes! That’d started my excitement.
Also notable is the Nexdock laptop.
I think it cool that Chrome OS is slowly inching toward being the same as Android.
