I read somewhere that the AOSP January patch fixed a bunch of issues with desktop mode. Unable to locate the post. Does anyone have recent experience?
Pixel 8 desktop mode guide and personal experience
missing-root Pixels have hardware virtualization support and being able to use other operating systems in virtual machines including Windows 11 and desktop Linux distributions is a planned feature for GrapheneOS. We just haven't prioritized it since there wasn't DisplayPort alternate mode until the Pixel 8 and the desktop mode support still isn't fully baked. Once the feature is complete and enabled on stock OS with a proper UI included for the launcher, we'll consider prioritizing it.
@missing-root You're making a lot of incorrect assumptions based on your personal knowledge and experience with apps which does not reflect the whole set of apps that are available.
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GrapheneOS not sure which comment you are referring to but I can't find that many incorrect assumptions really.
Krita, Chromium (and soon Firefox), Acode, OSMAnd~ are the only desktop-friendly/comparable Apps that I know. Maybe a few more, notes apps etc. but a ton of apps are not convergent (like many GNOME and KDE apps are nowadays).
I sure hope that the many tablet options on the market will motivate people to develop good Tablet software, which would then be a step closer to Desktop.
It just doesnt make sense on phones, so Android Tablets need to become "a thing". I suppose there are a lot more proprietary options like Adobe, Microsoft, Notes apps etc.
13 days later
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GrapheneOS accepting the hardware limitations as a bottle neck, does this mean a meaningful step towards a xen based (or similar) model?
Or aside that, the option to launch disposables for untrusted links, PDFs, etc, along with other features people praise Qubes for?
Since the Pixel 8 only has 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Port, will using it with a lot of accessories (ethernet, mouse, keyboard, display, and headset) negatively affect its speed when using external drives?
DeletedUser40 I don't think mouse or keyboard matter. But too much overall load will slow the system down. And it might not be the USB port that saturates... DRAM has limited throughput too. Fundamentally this is a phone, not a tower PC.
I have followed your advice and the truth is that the desktop mode looks great. It is missing a home or task bar, but I was surprised that when I connected my new pixel 8 to my work dock (dynabook) it instantly recognized the screen, keyboard and mouse perfectly.
Is there any way to use desktop mode with the smartphone screen off? I'm afraid it will burn out the oled panel.
ifman13 burn in isn't really an issue with Pixel shift and whatnot
DeletedUser40 I think that if it is a real problem, having the smartphone screen on for a long time with a static image can end up burning it.
It is the main drawback I find today to the desktop mode.
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OutlawSanZhang which gives you a desktop-like experience with floating windows
Hope they'll implement tiling some day....
OutlawSanZhang Using this feature requires enabling developer options, which are frown upon in this community because of the security implications. Do not use this feature if the best level of smartphone security is desired.
What are the security implications of using developer options? Unless you're turning something necessary, there's none AFAIK. I, for example, had to turn Absolute volume off since it messes up the volume calculator i'm using. The apps have no way of knowing whether it's working, and this option specifically doesn't affect GOS precautions whatsoever.
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GrapheneOS
That sounds like great news! Looking forward to it. I would argue that most people would use the VMs in full-screen mode, so a polished desktop UI shouldn't be necessary for this to be greatly useful.
ifman13
You can just run any app that gives you a black screen on the phone side, like a gallery app and a black image.
aeduigh
Please see the previous reply on simulating a desktop mode to try it out on any GrapheneOS-supported device. It works exactly the same way.
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What are the security implications of using developer options?
You have to enter the owner user pass/PIN when enabling Developer options.
If they are enabled its possible for anyone who manages to get hold of the unlocked device to use adb which provides highly privileged access.
In general Developer options are not meant for general usage. They are meant for developers testing devices or apps. They may make unexpected holes in the AOSP security model.
They can also cause unexpected breakages. The GrapheneOS team has encountered a few cases over the years where users phones broke and it took a lot of effort before it was discovered that it was down to users changing things in Developer options. For example a number of users devices became completely unresponsive to screen input after an update. It turned out they had all changed the Display cutout in Developer options to one particular option. It took quite some time to find and fix the problem and then send out a new update which fixed the issue for them.
Same for changing things via adb, people messing with magisk or similar, disabling system apps and changing permissions of system apps.
It is advised not to do these things!! Some are terrible for security and all of them can cause unexpected breakages that can be very hard to diagnose!
If you do them and your device starts misbehaving they are a very good place to start looking. Also if you reach out for help it can save A LOT of time for everyone if you let people know that such changes have been made.
Currently excited to see how this matures.
I have tested desktop mode but found it to currently be extremely buggy.
Hopefully more bugs will be squashed with the release of QPR2.
Thank you for a very clear explanation on the implications of enabling developer options, Carlos-Anso.
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Carlos-Anso Makes sense now. Since turning developer options off disables ABS, would it be possible to move Absolute Volume Control to normal settings?
If it were possible to have two monitors using a dock, it would be a dream.
I was hesitating to replace my current desktop with a Chromebook, but I think I'll wait.
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Obviously I can see why this would be useful for you.
Unfortunately theres plenty of work the development team have lined up. We have to prioritise work depending on impact. Also things that may at first appear relatively simple often turn out to be very much more work than expected. This has been the case recently with Android Auto support and another OS change that should be included soon.
In the case of moving this setting it would not just be changing a few lines of code to move it elsewhere. We would also have to investigate the security implications to moving it out of Developer options.
DeletedUser24 If it were possible to have two monitors using a dock
AOSP does have support for an arbitrary number of displays
https://source.android.com/docs/core/display/multi_display/displays#more_displays
Not heard of anyone trying to connect two displays to a Pixel 8 or 8pro yet. Would be interested to hear of any attempts. I noticed there is an Anker usbc hub with 2 HDMI outputs that is very similar to a 1 HMDI output hub someone reported working with GrapheneOS.
Very exciting, thanks !
I would have tried, but I don't have a P8 for this.
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Carlos-Anso I reported on another thread I have an Anker hub with two external displays (one HDMI and one DisplayPort). I can use both displays with a Pixel 8 at the same time in mirror mode. When I try desktop mode in Developer Options, only one monitor works and the other displays static.