Along with the Galaxy S8 and the S8+, Samsung also unveiled a bunch of official accessories of the new smartphones, including cases, wireless chargers, and a docking station for the smartphones. These smartphones are equipped with powerful, desktop-grade processors (Exynos 8895 or Snapdragon 835), and to leverage this power, Samsung has developed a docking station for the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Samsung DeX is a wired docking station that can not only rapidly charge the Galaxy S8 or the S8+, but also turn them into Android-based desktops by providing “a secure desktop-like experience” to the users. The DeX can be easily used to display and edit data from a compatible smartphone, making the device “faster and smarter.” Samsung has teamed up with virtual desktop software makers and companies like Microsoft and Adobe for offering a desktop-like experience for apps like Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Lightroom Mobile. The Dex is one of those products from Samsung that provide “Beyond the Phone Experiences” to the users of its premium smartphones.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ sit in an upright position on the Dex, and there are multiple connectors at the rear, including HDMI, full-sized USB ports, and an ethernet port. There's a USB Type-C port as well, which powers the whole setup. A desktop-like UI is displayed on a connector monitor, and a keyboard and a mouse can be used to navigate through and control the desktop environment. The company said that users can access apps, edit documents, browse the web using a desktop version of a web browser, watch videos on the big screen, reply to messages using a connected keyboard, and more using the DeX station.
The Android-based desktop UI can show multiple free-form and movable windows. For those workers that need to access Windows-based apps, Samsung DeX allows users to remotely connect and access virtual desktops, thanks to the company's partnership with Citrix, VMWare, and Amazon Web Services. While connected to the DeX, the smartphones would be protected by Samsung's Knox security platform. For added security, the user's mobile data won't be transferred from the device to the desktop. The DeX station also features Adaptive Fast Charge to rapidly charge the smartphone while it is docked.
The DeX accessory will be sold globally, and it may be bundled along with the smartphone in some regions. “The smartphone has become the central point for the modern mobile professional, and when giving a presentation or editing documents remotely, it means they can work effectively using just their smartphone. We developed Samsung DeX with the highly mobile worker in mind, giving them a convenient and flexible desktop experience,” said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.
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