I finally tried the Pixel’s new desktop mode, and it’s the coolest hidden feature you aren't using
The new Pixel Desktop mode allows users to connect their Pixel phones to an external display for a desktop-like experience. This feature, developed in collaboration with Samsung, transforms the interface and supports multiple apps on the screen. Users can enjoy a more flexible and spacious environment for multitasking with their Pixel devices.
- ▪The Pixel Desktop mode was introduced in Google's March Pixel drop but was not highlighted in the announcement.
- ▪When connected to an external display, the Pixel phone's interface changes to a desktop layout with a taskbar and app icons.
- ▪Users can open up to five apps on the external display while maintaining one app running on the phone.
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| Original publisher | TechRadar |
| Canonical URL | https://www.techradar.com/phones/google-pixel-phones/i-finally-tried-the-pixels-new-desktop-mode-and-its-the-coolest-hidden-feature-you-arent-using |
| Publication time | Mon, 18 May 2026 00:30:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-18T00:33:21.159Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-18T00:33:21.159Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
| Excerpt method | First ~120 words (~800 chars) of extracted publisher body, fair-use limited. |
| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | 7fYk-u4-5w_2 |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Indexing | May the item be indexed (stored, ranked, made findable)? | Allowed |
| Snippet | May a short excerpt of the publisher's text be shown? | Allowed |
| AI summary | May WeSearch generate its own short summary of the article? | Limited |
| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Phones Google Pixel Phones I finally tried the Pixel’s new desktop mode, and it’s the coolest hidden feature you aren't using News By Jason Cipriani published 18 May 2026 Can a Pixel 10 Pro XL really replace your laptop When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Future/Jason Cipriani) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Google's March Pixel drop included a bunch of new features for its smartphones.
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