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The original was posted on /r/samsungdex by /u/doc_long_dong on 2023-10-11 06:59:01.
Let me start by saying I have tried basically every media interface there is for a home theater system (i.e., something to play media and games in a living room): Firesticks of various qualities, Apple TV 4K, Windows computers, Android TV, Mac computers, dedicated media OSs, etc.
In no universe did I ever expect a PHONE to supercede all of them. Yet, an old samsung S20 FE with DeX has made that happen. The reason I am writing this is that the fact this is such an amazing media machine is so shocking to me.
For reference, I'll list the reason I did not like any of the above as a media/gaming/leisure time machine.
- FireStick is nice and easy but inundated with ads and requires tons of hackery to get it to work the way you want. Also the interface is just foul unless you customize the hell out of it. IIRC mouse/kb support does not work very well either. No gaming, forced to watch in-app ads, limited to the Amazon store for apps (basically). Internet browsing experience is unusable
- Apple TV is also nice and easy with a nicer interface. Has some gaming but limited to app store. Forced to watch in-app ads. Limited to apple app store. Browsing experience is painful in multiple aspects. Not customizable
- MacOS: Pretty nice but reqiores a good amount of extra apps to do basic stuff (get correct resolution on my display, snap a window to a side of the screen). Mobile media-first applications like instagram have to be run in browser (unless you have an M series) which offers a weird experience and difficult to get notifications from everything. Nice because you can skip in-app ads (e.g., Peacock ads) by using a browser with an ad blocker. You can customize individual apps by using the browser interace and other extensions as well (e.g., dark reader). Gaming is ok, can play some mobile games. Also, the screen time controls experience is suprisingly limited.
- Windows is similar to macos except works a bit better. Gaming is great. Can play mobile games with bluestacks or something but doesn't work great. Screen time/restrictions are not a thing unless you program your own powershell scripts to do things (which I did)
- Media-dedicated OSs like openmediavault are best for media but limited for other things (e.g., messaging, gaming, internet browsing)
Samsung DeX on the other hand, has given me a perfectly customizable experience for what I want out of a living room media/gaming machine.
- Customizable in basically every aspect through F-Droid, Vanced Manager, and Play store
- Keyboard and mouse support is first class, even for games
- Controller support for mobile games is awesome
- Can play some emulator games on Dolphin emulator which is INSANE and it works for my favorite multiplayer controller games like Smash Bros and Mario Kart
- Can be used as a torrent device much like a dedicated NAS or media OS, with a few limitations
- Mobile-first media apps are flawless since they are running natively on a mobbile device rather than a browser
- In-app ads can be removed by using browser versions of apps with extensions using Kiwi browser
- Mobile games work flawlessly, obviouisly, and many of them have supported controis for my peripherals
- Browsing experience is first class
- Device is mobile so I can take it whereever with me!
- Works instantly plugging into a USB-C OTG with USB/ethernet/HDMI attachments. Works flawlessly with my TV and speaker system.
- No PC games but I have a dedicated gaming pc for that.
- Screen time/restrictions experience is first class with the Modes/Routines app. This also works on DeX flawlessly!
- Notifications are aggregated sanely even from browser-only services (e.g., some fantasy football services my friends and I use) as opposed to MacOS/Windows where the browser application has to be opened first before aggregating notifications
- Legitimately faster and more responsive than every other device except my windows PC. And that includes the mac mini 2018 I have.
- Truly the most versatile media device I have ever used. Everything somehow just works!!
Anyways, this is a long post but I felt I had to share. I have a very esoteric set of requirements for my home media system (mobile games, media, customizable browsing, emulator games, controller support, mouse and keyboard, etc.) and somehow this PHONE actually handles all that better than any other OS/device I have had over the past 10 years.