One UI 8 Leak Shows Big Dex Changes
For those who frequent this site/YouTube channel, you know I enjoy blurring the lines between mobile and desktop experiences. Samsung DeX has been a frontrunner in this area for years, effectively turning your Galaxy phone or tablet into a surprisingly capable desktop setup.
This latest leak from DevOfIpos indicate that Samsung might be making some big changes to the DeX UI, allegedly basing the new look on Google’s new desktop mode for One UI 8. In the series of screenshots posted, you can see several changes that we can dig into.
Changes
Currently, the DeX taskbar has the App Drawer icon, Search and the Controls on the far left. Now, everything but those Controls have migrated to the middle, somewhat mimicking the Windows Experience. The Search button has a totally new design that spreads things out into a much more comfortable looking layout and the the quick settings button does something very similar.
The app drawer itself is also very different. Rather than taking up the entire screen, it appears in a modern looking window with a search bar at the bottom.
Android 16
While we can’t really interrogate whether or not this new look DeX is borrowing from what Google is doing for a later version of Android 16 under the hood, we can at least look for visual similarities and honestly… there aren’t many. It’s important to note that Google’s desktop mode is much earlier along and is subject to change, but for now they don’t look all that similar.
Google’s App Drawer is almost a mix between full screen and a window. Quick Settings are found by dragging down from the top, just like on a phone and the controls are on the other side.
Rather than looking for signs of Google’s work in One UI 8 DeX, perhaps we should look at DeX for signs of where Google’s Desktop Mode might be headed? One can hope, because Samsung clearly has a better handle on the UI at this point.