This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/samsungdex by /u/Umair320 on 2025-08-16 21:17:07+00:00.
Although I've used DeX on tablets before, this was the first time I used it with a mouse and keyboard on an external monitor. Overall, I thought the UI was fast and smooth. I was particularly happy with the smooth scrolling in Chrome and the better typing experience compared to Windows with Gboard autocorrect. However, I felt that the desktop aspect of the "Desktop eXperience" was severely lacking, to the point where I would not want to use it for any proper work.
Major Issues:
The new implementation has limited functionality that stops it from being suitable for daily use. Most of these were not issues with older DeX.
- The grid for app placement misses out huge areas along the edges of the screen
- The apps in the taskbar are the same as the ones from the phone launcher and can't be changed, with the exception of adding apps into existing icons to make folders
- There are only two spots for showing running apps in the taskbar; any more and all but one are stacked in a separate menu, making the taskbar almost useless for quickly accessing running apps
- The app drawer is too cluttered, and having app names is pointless since they are cut off after three or four letters in many cases. The number of rows and columns visible should be user-adjustable
- The app drawer doesn’t support folders
- When plugged into an external monitor with a keyboard and mouse, the keyboard UI stays on the phone, stopping me from making use of the available options like suggested spellings and emoji/symbols keyboards etc.
- This one probably isn’t Samsung’s fault but it still stops me being able to use DeX: apps like Google and Chrome do not adjust well to app window size, despite being able to do so in normal OneUI on Galaxy Tabs
Other issues:
Behaviour that seems intended, but I don’t like
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When plugged into an external monitor with a keyboard and mouse, the phone display is kept active. Only one screen timeout value can be chosen, which applies to both the phone and the external display. Actions such as selecting paragraphs of text and toggling settings cause the phone to vibrate. Any time a text field is selected, the keyboard toolbar lights up the screen again
- All of this can be solved by allowing the phone screen to be turned off while using another monitor
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When clicking upon the three dots in the volume bar in the taskbar or quick panel, the settings open in a new settings window rather than in a flyout. The same happens for the media output button in the quick panel
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The calendar flyout from clicking the time and date in the taskbar is too small for most displays and doesn’t scale with the rest of the UI. I would’ve thought this was a bug but it’s been like this for years.
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When an app is in full screen, the only way out is a button in the top app bar. The esc key should also do this
Bugs:
The in-app keyboard shortcut menu has an undersized bottom bar
- The in-app keyboard shortcut menu has an undersized bottom bar [image]
- The stacked apps flyout in the taskbar doesn't close when entering recents view via a mouse button
- [Good Lock] Most display resolution options often don’t show up
- When snapping a window to left/right, there is no prompt to choose an app for the other side
- There is a gap between apps in split screen mode
- There is no app opening/minimising animation
- There are no animations when selecting an app from the recents menu
- When there are mutiple windows of a single app open, the flyout appears in the wrong place
- The taskbar app icon hover flyouts sometimes stay on screen until the mouse is clicked
- Folders in the taskbar open beneath app windows instead of on top of them, like the finder and app flyouts do. This happens even with windows maximised or in full screen mode
Improvements:
Extra features that would improve the desktop experience
- When hovering over the flyout from a taskbar app icon, show the app window like in Windows
- Enable the user to modify system keyboard shortcuts, such as using the Cmd key to open finder instead of the app drawer
- Add an option to open an app in split screen from the recents view, like in normal OneUI
- Add a keyboard shortcut to open taskbar apps using Cmd+num, like in older DeX
- Add an option to open the first result in a search when pressing the enter key
- Add a tab for DeX settings to the settings homepage, like in older DeX
