Android 16’s Second Screen Experience Detailed
As Google continues to trickle out new information about their upcoming Android 16 release, we are learning more and more about the long-awaited Desktop Mode for Android devices. As you know, Samsung has had its DeX interface for years now, and many other OEMs have produced their own Desktop UI that allows users to plug their phones into an external display and harness the power of their phone to run a true desktop UI, complete with a taskbar and floating windows. Many devices even allow this windowed mode to run directly on large-screen tablet devices, and at long last, Google is about to make this feature set an official part of Android.
It’s Coming Soon..
In a recent video posted to the Android Developers YouTube Channel, Developer Francesco Romano has revealed that Google’s take on a desktop UI will be released fully with the Stable Android 16 AOSP release. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean we’re getting this set of features with the Android 16 release next month, just that it will be part of the AOSP build that developers can begin working with. As stated in the video, “Coming to the beta releases of 2025 Q3, as a developer preview, the desktop windowing experience will be enabled on compatible devices when connected to an external display.”
Q3 begins on July 1st, so it’s possible that these features will first arrive as later beta builds for Android 16 QPR1.
In the video, Francesco further explains how important it will be moving forward for Android App Developers to make sure their apps are well-suited for a higher level of adaptability. Apps will need to look good on a phone, but also on a tablet or in a window of any size for users using this new Desktop UI. As someone who has been using large-screen Android devices for years, the idea of apps reflowing to show more information is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and it seems like Google is finally emphasizing exactly this.
External Screen
Part of this transition is moving Android from being an OS that is only happy on one screen at a time to an OS that can utilize multiple windows, just like a real desktop OS. To this end, they are encouraging developers to make sure that their app can run in multiple instances at once. The example given was a document editor. Users might want to have this opened both on their phone and on that second screen which is running the Desktop UI so that they can reference info on both or even drag and drop between screens. Both screens can operate independently — this isn’t screen mirroring anymore.
Rather thoughtfully, when a tablet already running this new Desktop UI is plugged into a second monitor, the setup is extended, allowing users to easily move windows back and forth between the two screens. Conversely, people using their phone to power the second screen will have their phone behaving independently, as if nothing else were happening.