Pixel 8 may include support for Android 14’s improved desktop mode

After years of wishing for something like this from Google, it seems like the Pixel team is finally set to deliver a phone that can be used as a semi-desktop replacement – if inside info from Android Authority is to be believed. As always with this sort of thing, take it all with a grain of salt. While there are definitely upgrades to the desktop experience on the way with Android 14, those changes alone don’t necessarily indicate that Google will finally bring display output via the USB Type C connector on the Pixel 8.

There are two tweets from Mishaal Rahman specifically about some of the upcoming Android 14 tweaks that add USB Type C support for DP Alt Mode (more on that in a second) and a slew of improvements at the core of Android for things like physical keyboard support, key remapping, touchpad gesture handling and more. You can check both of those out below and rest assured that if Mishaal is pointing this stuff out, it’s definitely legit and on the way.

Android 14 seems to add support for a new version of the USB Gadget HAL: v2.0 can report whether a connected USB-C cable supports DP Alt Mode.

May we finally get a Pixel with video output via USB-C? Wishful thinking on my part, but with all the recent desktop mode improvements..

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 9, 2023

What is DP Alt Mode?

While the improvements being made to Android 14 desktop mode aren’t just for phones – Google has the new Pixel Tablet out in the wild, after all – the inclusion of DP Alt Mode at a core level is telling that Google may want to encourage further use of this long-time feature. Yes, DP Alt Mode has been around and on multiple phones for years and is also the way Chromebooks output a video signal for external monitors via USB Type C docking accessories.

DP (DisplayPort) Alt Mode, put simply, allows for video output via a USB Type C connection. While it hasn’t been baked into Android at a core level on Pixel phones to date the way Mishaal is indicating, it has definitely been leveraged by companies like OnePlus and Samsung over the years to mirror your phone’s screen to a larger display. And companies like Samsung have taken this to the next level with their proprietary DeX setup that gives users a desktop-like setup to work from when plugged into an external screen.

While simple phone screen mirroring would be an upgrade all on its own for Pixel phones moving forward, things get even more interesting when you consider this insider info from Android Authority that suggests Google isn’t working on DP Alt Mode in Android 14 just as a sideline feature. Instead, it may mean that they are set to give us some sort of workable desktop-type solution with the Pixel 8 this fall.

3 birds with one stone?

What this could mean is we could see Google lean a bit more into Android’s desktop abilities with their Pixel hardware. Not only could we see this with the Pixel 8, but the hardware might be there already for the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold to take advantage of this as well. For devices like the Pixel Tablet, this improvement to desktop mode in Android 14 could actually help things out a bit when the tablet gets connected to a mouse and keyboard instead of what it does now: which is basically nothing apart from adding a mouse cursor to the screen.

While I don’t think desktop mode via a phone is the solution to full-blown productivity needs (Android needs a lot more work for that to even be in the conversation), I do think this presents some interesting use cases for people on the go a lot. Being able to plug in your phone to a screen and slap together a short-term desktop solution would be helpful to a lot of people, I think, so this could be a very solid addition to the overall Android experience if it all plays out.

But that doesn’t stop me from wishing for a phone that could one day truly pull double duty. With an Android/ChromeOS dual boot option, I’d still love to see a phone that could be a standard Android device until plugged in via USB Type C to an external monitor. Like Samsung’s DeX mode, there could be a prompt that asks if you want to move over to the desktop OS and just like that, it could bounce you to ChromeOS for a better big-screen experience.

Alas, I still see no work on that front in any way, shape or form, so I’ll take what I can get and be excited to see what Google cooks up with the Android 14 desktop improvements. But I don’t expect too much, and you probably shouldn’t either. These types of moves are generally not done with the intent to fully supplant a company’s other interests, and I don’t see Google trying to propel Android into the desktop market at this point when they clearly have ChromeOS for those users. Instead, it will be a nice trick to have up your sleeve when needed, and if done well, a great feature that Google can attempt to do better than others via their own hardware.