# Samsung DeX

32 Hacker News commenters recommended Samsung DeX and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Mature desktop mode on Samsung Galaxy phones, good for basic multitasking and external displays. Caveat: closed-source and not a full laptop replacement.

## Why people recommend it

- Good multitasking with desktop apps (3 comments): "works great also with Samsung DEX if you want something more for basic multitasking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47900241)) "for doing stuff in a browser on a big screen and multitasking with some other apps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49632658)) "it's not perfect, but it's miles beyond the "multitasking" iPads have offered." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47377819))
- Replaces laptop or netbook for some (3 comments): "It is good enough that a Samsung tablet has replaced my now dead netbook." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794951)) "DeX with a lapdock will cover any mobile needs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47258969)) "Got rid of my laptop completely." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46812051))
- Mature, works well out of the box (4 comments): "is mature and works exceptionally well with applications that are supported" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46807064)) "Samsung DeX works great out of the box, no need to wait for Google here" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803068)) "Samsung DeX has existed for years and works as well as it has for ages." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803125))
- Better than Android's built-in desktop (3 comments): "Android is way ahead of Mac with Android Desktop mode and Samsung Dex" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48143226)) "Dex which is much better then the current Android desktop mode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48119765)) "samsung and motorola have fairly polished desktop frontends" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46764084))

## What people warn about

- Not good enough for daily work (3 comments): "Samsung Dex still exists and still sucks. It's probably the best desktop experience available on Android but it's nowhere near usable as a daily driver." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794592)) "there are just enough pain points in day-to-day use to make it unviable for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49640827)) "my experience using it as desktop was absolutely atrocious" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48120564))
- Mobile apps poor on big screen (3 comments): "Most never considered "desktop" as a use case, so their UI is terrible on a 27 inch screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46045305)) "it's handy. Blowing up mobile apps to a larger screen and multitasking isn't ideal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46799557)) "What is useful about mobile apps designed for a small screen on a big screen?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47374984))
- Closed-source and Samsung-only (2 comments): "Incredible to not hold my computer around anymore. But Samsung... not open-source, buggy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49868477)) "Dex is mature but closed-source and Samsung-dependent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172191))
- Limited to Android, not Linux or macOS (2 comments): "Running android in a DeX mode is fine, but its still android" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635898)) "you're limited to Android instead of Linux, MacOS etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47368483))

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Samsung DeX", https://hackerapproved.com/p/samsung-dex/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).