Hands-on with Android 16’s new desktop mode: why ChromeOS isn’t going anywhere

By now, you’ve probably seen the news that the latest beta version of Android 16 includes the first iteration of a true desktop mode. The ability to plug your phone into a monitor and get a PC-like experience has been a dream for many Android users for years – including myself.

While there are a million questions about what this means for the future of Android and even ChromeOS, we wanted to cut through the speculation, get it up and running, and show you what this new feature actually looks and feels like in its current state. After a bit of tinkering, we have it working, and while it shows a ton of promise, it also makes it very clear that ChromeOS isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

How to try it yourself (if you’re feeling adventurous)

Getting this new desktop mode working takes a few steps and a bit of patience. First, you’ll need a compatible Pixel phone that supports display out over USB-C (we used a Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 8 series should also work). Then you need to:

1. Opt into the Android 16 Beta Program at google.com/android/beta. You’ll receive an over-the-air update to install the beta OS.
2. Once you’re on the beta, you need to enable Developer Options.
3. In Developer Options, scroll nearly to the bottom (or just search for “window”) and turn on all the window management toggles, like “enable freeform windows.”
4. Reboot your phone.
5. Connect your phone to an external monitor using a USB-C to HDMI dongle or hub.

A quick word of warning: this is a very early beta. We ran into some screen flickering issues at first that resolved themselves after a few unplug/replug cycles. Patience is key if you are wanting to try this out right now.

The good, the bad, and the buggy

Once it’s running, you’re greeted with a desktop that is both familiar and very raw. The good news is that the core windowing system works! You can open apps in free-form windows, resize them, and even snap them to either side of the screen, much like you would on ChromeOS. The overview mode also seems to function like virtual desks, keeping your window layouts grouped together.

However, the limitations are immediately apparent. The experience is visually stark, with no wallpaper support yet, which makes it look very unfinished. More critically, on our QHD monitor, all the text on the screen was quite blurry and difficult to read, which would be fatiguing for any extended work session.

The on-screen navigation buttons for back, home, and overview don’t seem fully implemented, and the biggest hangup is that you are still very much using the mobile version of apps, including Chrome. That means no extensions, a mobile tab UI, and inconsistent right-click functionality.

Why ChromeOS isn’t going anywhere anytime soon

This brings us to the obvious comparison. As cool as it is to see this working, getting actual laptop-style work done is still a whole lot better on a Chromebook. The lack of a true desktop browser with extensions is a massive hurdle for any real productivity.

Over time, I fully expect to see Android desktop and ChromeOS come closer together. As Google works on a true desktop version of Chrome for Android and continues to refine this experience, many of these pain points will be solved. But that will take time—likely the next 12 to 18 months.

For now, the new Android 16 desktop mode is a fascinating and fun tech demo. It’s really cool to see where Google is headed and the potential is definitely there. But it’s not something you should count on as a daily-driver productivity feature just yet. It’s a glimpse of an exciting future, not a replacement for your Chromebook today.