Android 17 could introduce a new Desktop mode for smartphones

Android 16 is showing an early version of Google’s new Desktop mode that will most probably debut in the Android 17 upgrade. The new feature will likely turn your smartphone into a desktop to ease certain heavy operations for you.

Desktop mode on a smartphone enables users to connect their handset to an external display, keyboard, and mouse – turning the entire device into a laptop/computer.

The feature further lets you use your phone’s apps and other capabilities on a larger screen. It seems Google is finally preparing its own Desktop mode, but we need to hold our patience for a longer time, as the feature may launch with Android 17.

Spotted by Mishaal Rahman (via Android Authority), the Android 16 beta shows a glimpse of the new Desktop mode. The feature is at an unfinished stage. Hence, it is unlikely to launch with the stable Android 16 upgrade in the future.

Hence, the feature could go official either with the quarterly release of the Android 16 upgrade or directly with Android 17 next year. The new mode displays a taskbar that lets you access pinned apps and recent apps, and a status bar.

One can shoot various applications in the floating windows at the same time with the new desktop mode. You can move these windows freely, resize, or snap them. The feature also supports drag-and-drop capability.

The details add that Google is bringing the “desktop windowing mode” to smartphones. Android 15 introduced this feature for tablets to launch many apps together. PC-like external display features could be another major addition in Android’s Desktop mode.

The exact inputs about Google’s new Desktop feature are unclear. Though we may find more details on this matter in the coming days.

Android 17 could introduce a new Desktop mode for smartphones (Image Credits: Google)

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