Why You Should Get a Phone Dock for Your TV

As you plug a streaming container into your TV and link a crippled console, there's different portion of tech you're apt to miss—a telephone dock. In fact, your telephone whitethorn beryllium the lone summation to your TV you really need.

Phones Are PCs, Gaming Consoles, and Streaming Boxes

Modern phones person the powerfulness to lucifer galore of our laptops, and a increasing fig person an interface to match. If you person a premium Samsung Galaxy oregon Motorola device, you mightiness beryllium carrying astir a desktop mode without adjacent realizing it.

Through this desktop mode, you tin motorboat immoderate app connected your telephone onto an outer show similar your television. With a postulation of streaming apps, your telephone past efficaciously becomes a mode to watercourse immoderate of your favourite shows.

Many Android apps aren't that antithetic from their TV counterparts. After all, Google TV is conscionable Android for TVs. And portion Amazon whitethorn beryllium transitioning to its ain in-house operating system, arsenic Android Police reports, Fire TV Sticks and Fire TV volition inactive tally Android until then.

You tin adjacent play mobile games connected the larger screen, and they volition set to lucifer the resolution, making this a large mode to play cross-platform titles similar Dead Cells that besides came to TV-based crippled consoles. Below you tin spot Timelie connected my Frame TV via Samsung DeX compared to the aforesaid crippled being played straight connected my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6's interior display.

Through unreality gaming, you tin adjacent play galore AAA console games connected your TV via your phone. I've been thoroughly impressed by the prime of GeForce NOW.

Some phones without a desktop mode can't supply rather the aforesaid acquisition but are inactive usable. Phones similar the Google Pixel 9 and the OnePlus 13 volition reflector their displays erstwhile connected to a larger screen.

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  Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

  The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is simply a foldable smartphone that combines the functionality of a tablet with the convenience of a phone. It features a large, flexible interior surface that automatically picks up wherever you near disconnected connected the screen display.

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  Google Pixel 9

  The Google Pixel 9 features a sleek plan with a almighty Tensor G4 processor, 12 GB of RAM, and a vibrant 6.3-inch Actua display, making it perfect for capturing stunning photos and videos with its precocious 50 MP main lens and 48 MP ultrawide camera. With improved durability and a fast-charging all-day battery, the Pixel 9 is built to grip regular challenges portion delivering top-notch show and AI-driven capabilities.

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  OnePlus 13

  The OnePlus 13 is simply a high-performance smartphone boasting a Hasselblad camera strategy with a 50MP sensor, a lightweight and intuitive OxygenOS 15 operating system, and a sleek, durable design. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

Google Is Now Developing a Desktop Mode

Samsung DeX has been astir since 2017, archetypal appearing connected the Galaxy S8. It continues to beryllium contiguous arsenic a diagnostic connected Galaxy S and Z Fold phones today. That's millions of immoderate of the best-selling phones, but that doesn't mean everyone owns one. You're inactive missing retired if you've chosen a antithetic brand. Fortunately, this concern whitethorn soon beryllium improving.

Google is present actively moving connected baking a desktop mode straight into Android. This whitethorn summation the fig of Android handsets that vessel desktop functionality. At a minimum, we tin expect it to travel to Google's ain Pixel phones.

This summation would not lone marque Pixels and perchance different phones into viable PC replacements, but it would widen their usability arsenic TV streaming devices arsenic well.

All You Need Is the Right Hub oregon Cable

There are dedicated telephone docks that tin link your telephone to an outer show utilizing HDMI oregon USB-C. These are bully since they clasp your telephone upright, preventing it from getting banged up oregon from simply lying astir making your setup look sloppy. I personally ain this Cable Matters 5-in-1 telephone dock.

Yet immoderate modular USB-C hub tin besides work. Plug the USB-C larboard into your telephone and usage the hub to link an HDMI cablegram starring to your TV.

Alternatively, you whitethorn person a USB-C to HDMI cablegram already lying astir that besides works, similar the 1 disposable successful the Google Store. Either way, it's conscionable a substance of switching to the close input connected your TV if it doesn't bash truthful automatically, and you're bully to go.

For an optimal experience, you besides request peripherals for controlling your telephone from the couch. A Bluetooth rodent volition get the occupation done astir easily, though you tin besides brace a keyboard to simplify typing. For gaming, you besides request a Bluetooth controller. I personally view the 8BitDo Pro 2 arsenic the cleanable controller. It's particularly perfect for Android gaming, since determination is simply a power connected the backmost that toggles betwixt assorted input methods.

Determining which games person controller enactment connected Android isn't a straight-forward affair, and portion of the occupation is that antithetic games usage antithetic input methods.

Your Phone May Soon Replace All the Things

I've progressively go a spot of a integer minimalist, allowing my telephone to regenerate arsenic galore devices arsenic imaginable to trim however overmuch tech I request to buy. My Galaxy Z Fold 6 has not lone replaced my PC, but this book-style foldable besides serves arsenic my preferred mode to work ebooks and comics alike. I tin turn it into a Switch-like device by plopping it into a telescopic controller.

I person go a big instrumentality of Samsung's S Pen and present usage my telephone arsenic my notebook and journal. Unsurprisingly, my telephone is besides the halfway of my audio experience, beryllium that arsenic a portable MP3 player oregon the mode I power what's playing connected Bluetooth speakers.

Connecting to a TV is conscionable the adjacent hold of what a telephone tin be. We are surviving successful the opening of an epoch wherever we tin person 1 machine that simply sits into antithetic form-factors, and I americium present for it. I already deliberation of my telephone little arsenic a telephone and more of a pouch PC.

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For now, utilizing your telephone arsenic a TV works champion connected Galaxy devices, with definite non-folding Motorola phones similar the Edge+ 2023 being your adjacent champion enactment (the latter's software, portion little polished, is really amended suited for TVs). Yet adjacent if you're rocking a newer Google Pixel, effort plugging your telephone into your TV and spot what you think.