Samsung DeX gives the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a desktop advantage over the iPhone Duo

There are plenty of times when opening a laptop is really about having a keyboard and a larger screen. A long email or a few changes to a document may not need specialist desktop software, yet doing them on a phone still feels like a compromise.

Samsung DeX gives the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a way to take on some of that work as well. Connect it to a monitor or TV and add a keyboard and mouse, and the phone becomes the computer behind a desktop-style workspace.

For someone whose everyday tasks fit the available mobile apps, that lets the phone adapt to a desk as well as it does to life on the move.

The important difference is how DeX uses the external screen. Rather than enlarging the phone's interface, it provides a workspace with resizable app windows, mouse controls and keyboard shortcuts. Samsung supports a wired connection through USB-C to HDMI, or a wireless connection to a compatible Miracast display.

Apple's iPhone Duo supports Split View, saved app pairs and multiple instances of supported apps on its inner display. It also supports DisplayPort output over USB-C, so the distinction is not whether it can connect to a monitor.

That output normally mirrors the phone, apart from apps with a separate second-screen experience, rather than providing an independent desktop workspace. DeX gives the Fold 8 a desktop-style workspace on the connected display, extending its usefulness beyond the foldable screen.

On the Fold 8, DeX also lets you organize apps across up to four workspaces, with five apps open in each. That is up to 20 apps across the workspaces, rather than 20 windows on one screen.

That lets you keep different tasks separate: email and a document in one workspace, for example, and browser research in another. You can switch between those groups instead of repeatedly rearranging windows.

For example, think about revising a document using information from an email. The document can occupy most of the monitor while the email remains open beside it for reference.

A physical keyboard makes a longer response easier to type, and the mouse gives you a familiar way to select text and move between windows. These are ordinary tasks, but they are also the reason many people open a laptop in the first place.

The phone remains available for separate tasks while DeX runs on the monitor. Checking something on the handset does not have to replace the document on the desk. You are using the same device in two different ways, with the larger display and peripherals providing the space and controls needed for a longer session.

At a home desk that already has a monitor and peripherals, the Fold 8 could handle a work session that would otherwise mean connecting a laptop. The case is strongest for browsing, email and straightforward document work, provided the mobile apps cover the functions you need.

DeX does not turn those apps into their full Windows or macOS equivalents, or make the Fold 8 a replacement for a laptop running demanding desktop software. 

For someone moving between equipped desks, though, the advantage is that the computer can already be in their pocket. The same phone that handles a quick reply away from the desk can support a longer writing session when a screen and keyboard are available. There is less reason to reach for a second device simply to get a more comfortable way of working.

The Fold 8 does not need to replace every computer to make this worthwhile. If it can take over the routine work that sends you to a laptop, the phone becomes useful for more of the day. For a foldable buyer, that is a practical form of value beyond having a bigger screen in a pocket.