Pixel 8 desktop mode guide and personal experience

void0

Think the mods might have disabled editing posts but I also get periodic crashes seemingly stemming from /vendor/lib64/libexynosdisplay.so, can provide logs if requested.

de0u

void0 I am not sure what the experience is like on a stock google pixel but I've been running the GOS Desktop Mode all morning hooked up to a USB C dock. It is quite buggy and needs a bit of love but I hope listing the bugs I've found below may help the team or other users iron things out.

Short answer: Google has not yet shipped a "done" implementation to their stock OS, let alone to AOSP. And I don't expect that the GrapheneOS project is likely to have developer time to fix it in the next few months (or potentially much longer).

When it comes out of developer options that will mean it's (hopefully) usable.

Carpool7341

Hopefully, once Android 16 QPR 1 is fully ported, a much more useable version of desktop mode will be available

mmobder

void0 Overall the experience is unusable from a practical standpoint

It's quite ok, actually (dunno re gaming). If you would check the thread before using the mode, it could help you to find some useful hints how to overcome current shortcomings.

Disappearing toolbar is easily solved by using phone's screen like described here https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/9775-pixel-8-desktop-mode-guide-and-personal-experience/118

The glitch with mouse cursor typically occurs when the screen turns off, so as I anyway set screen timeout to 30mins for desktop mode, it doesn't affect me that much.

mmobder

In the latest front Nov 22, desktop mode was noticeably changed.
So far I no longer see a bug where cursor jumps to phone's screen after the phone goes locked or screen times out, so one have to change screen orientation setting to move the cursor back to external screen.
Also, instead of a 9-dot button for apps, there is a task bar that doesn't disappear unexpectedly.
Now there is a status bar on the top that shows time and generic icons (VPN, Bluetooth, 5g/LTE and battery)

2WsF

mmobder Does it go beyond 1080p resolution? Like with a 2k or 4k display?

Ilgar

2WsF no

Carpool7341

The desktop experience improved considerably. Windows no longer get stuck in full screen mode. There's only one issue - I have a 4K monitor and after this update, the picture no longer scales properly. Everything seems smaller than I would have liked. I cannot find any options or workarounds for this so far. Let me know if you find a way. Otherwise, it seems pretty useable now!

OutlawSanZhang

Carpool7341 If you go to settings -> connected devices -> (your monitor), you can set the scaling of the monitor separately.

mmobder

A side improvement, though directly improving desktop mode use - a selection/switch between media output devices is now fixed (don't know if that's qpr1 or not).
If one have Bluetooth headphones connected and external monitor with audio is connected, obviously audio is switched to the monitor. Previously it was a pain to switch audio back.
Now it's fixed, as default "Audio will play on" control works fine ("..." in the volume control popup)

Carpool7341

Is it, by any chance, also possible to zoom in within the GOS PDF viewer on desktop with a keyboard + mouse?

de0u

Carpool7341 Is it, by any chance, also possible to zoom in within the GOS PDF viewer on desktop with a keyboard + mouse?

I don't see any open issues about that in the issue tracker, so it might be productive to file one. That said, I would not expect something like that to be implemented rapidly. Over time, as Google's desktop mode improves and people use it more, a feature like this would likely become more widely desired.

n2gwtl

How do you enable desktop mode on the pixel 8 pro? I connected a monitor today and it only projected my phone screen, there was no conversion to desktop mode.

highgoose

n2gwtl You need to ensure you are on the latest version of Graphene, then enable 'enable desktop experience features' in developer options > window management. Then when you plug in a screen via USB there should now be a seperate desktop screen.

MineralWater

I have some questions:
Will the desktop mode become an integral part of GrapheneOS/AOSP, means, will this soon activate on its own without having to enable it in developer mode? (So to say like Samsung Dex, where it's part of the OS and starts when you connect a monitor)

What cable is needed. I have a 1080p Television with USB-C (ready to receive video and audio), but the standard cable that came with the Pixel 9 seem not usable. GrapheneOS gives a message that I need to try a different cable. I can't even mirror the phone screen.

But what exactly do I need to buy to use desktop mode, what specifications do I need to look for in USB -C cables?

Or if I buy an USB hub, is it correct that I should buy one that has HDMI out and also can power the phone when connected? So basically a hub that gets the power through a wall socket?

The hub would make it easier to connect a mouse and standard keyboard, I prefer those over the smaller Bluetooth keyboards.

2WsF

MineralWater yeah, your best bet is a usb c hub with power input, hdmi output, and usb ports for keyboard/mouse. You can also look into getting a lapdock

de0u

MineralWater Will the desktop mode become an integral part of GrapheneOS/AOSP, means, will this soon activate on its own without having to enable it in developer mode? (So to say like Samsung Dex, where it's part of the OS and starts when you connect a monitor)

I believe that is Google's eventual plan, but I believe there is no firm schedule.

n2gwtl

Can I enable developer mode, then enable desktop mode, then disable developer mode and maintain desktop mode? Is developer mode enablement a security issue?

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