Android 16 desktop mode — Google’s best-kept secret got a quiet reveal at I/O

During all the excitement of Google‘s annual I/O 2025, you may have missed the more technical developer keynote where Google revealed that it’s been working on a desktop mode for Android 16. You can watch the part of the live stream here where it’s revealed.

Engineering manager Florina Muntenescu confirmed that the company is working with Samsung since the new mode is “building on the foundation” of the DeX platform, available on Samsung’s Galaxy phones.

“We’ve been collaborating with Samsung, building on the foundation of Samsung DeX, to bring enhanced desktop windowing capabilities in Android 16 for more powerful productivity workflows,” the company said.

We’ve said that Pixel 9 Pro phones already have a hidden desktop mode that is one of Google’s best kept secrets that needs to be on all Android devices. This quiet tease makes it more of a reality.

After the keynote, Google posted a blog about adaptive Android apps where the company said, “an app’s ability to seamlessly adapt to different screen sizes is becoming increasingly crucial.”

We’ve known for while that Google is working a version of DeX as previously leaked Android 16 code revealed a desktop mode that was turned off by default. At the same time, a version of Samsung DeX was discovered in One UI 8 test builds that appeared to take advantage of the Android 16 Material 3 Express redesign.

Of course, last April there were reports that Android 15 builds had a work-in-progress desktop mode but that feature never released and Google didn’t talk publicly about desktop mode like it did at I/O this year.

Currently, desktop mode is still turned off in Android 16 beta builds, and it’s not clear when the Google and Samsung collaboration will actually release. Nonetheless, this would be one step closer in giving people more access to this helpful tool.

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Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him.