我们的智能手机现在功能强大，可以与某些台式机和笔记本电脑解决方案相媲美。在那纤薄的手机机身(phone body)内，您会发现一台功能齐全的通用计算机，仅受为触摸屏使用(touchscreen use)而设计的移动操作界面(operating interface)的限制。
Android 操作系统(Android operating)实际上有一个即将推出的桌面环境(upcoming desktop environment)，您可以在其中将鼠标、屏幕和键盘(screen and keyboard)连接到您的Android 设备(Android device)，并将其用作 PC。然而，三星(Samsung)为其高端智能手机系列做了一些特别的事情。它被称为三星(Samsung) Dex，提供了一个非常有趣的价值主张(value proposition)。
什么是三星 Dex？(What Is Samsung Dex?)
从Galaxy S8 系列(Galaxy S8 series)手机开始，用户可以购买一个特殊的Dex Station，它允许您将屏幕、鼠标和键盘(mouse and keyboard)插入设备。然后，您的Galaxy S 手机(Galaxy S phone)会停靠在工作站上并自动启动Dex 环境(Dex environment)。
在撰写本文时，Note 10和Note 10+手机无需底座即可提供Dex 。您可以使用USB-C 电缆(USB-C cable)和Samsung Dex应用程序在Windows 或 Mac(Windows or Mac)上运行Dex。如果您想在公共 PC 或任何不属于您的机器上拥有私有(Pretty)桌面环境，这将非常有用。(desktop environment)
Note 10+也可以通过USB-C直接连接到外部显示器来用于Dex。手机屏幕(phone screen)变成触控板，当然你也可以无线连接键盘。在几秒钟内将您的手机变成台式电脑。
最后，某些三星(Samsung) 平板电脑(Tablets)，例如Galaxy Tab S4，可以通过点击切换到Dex 模式(Dex mode)。连接鼠标和键盘(mouse and keyboard)，这有点像拥有一台笔记本电脑。
我们疯狂的 Dex 任务(Our Crazy Dex Mission)
这是一个好主意，但Dex(Dex)到底有多实用？我们接受的疯狂任务是一整天的典型工作只使用Samsung Dex 。(nothing but Samsung Dex)目标是看看将支持Dex的智能手机用作您唯一的计算机的可行性。离开办公桌时随身携带手机，并在您坐下来进行更严肃的目的时将其对接。
我们将通过三星 Dex 应用程序使用(Samsung Dex application)Note 10+，但该测试适用于任何支持 Dex 的手机。除了性能，这显然会因模型而异。
Dex 桌面环境(The Dex Desktop Environment)
任何使用过Windows(Windows)、Ubuntu Linux、MacOS或任何现代PC 操作系统(PC operating system)的人都应该非常熟悉Dex 桌面(Dex desktop)。有壁纸，有图标和某种开始菜单(start menu)。
这里最大的不同是让您的应用程序作为窗口打开。某些应用程序（例如Google Chrome ）在移动它们时的行为与Windows 版本类似。(Windows version)其他的只是封装在窗口中的普通应用程序。
它非常简单明了，总体而言这是一件好事。用户界面相当厚实，你总是知道这仍然是你正在使用的手机，但它得到了广泛的笔触。
多任务处理(Multitasking)
鉴于您的特定Dex 设备可以满足(Dex device)您的需求，多任务处理基本上是轻而易举的事。对于我们用于此实验的Note 10+RAM可供使用。因此，打开一堆应用程序或互联网标签(apps or internet tabs)永远不会造成问题。
这并不是说存在重大问题。一方面，大多数应用程序在设计时都没有考虑到Dex，这意味着它们不符合(t conform)相同的约定。这里的软件也有一些限制，这些限制在更传统的桌面设置中不存在。
值得注意的是，谷歌浏览器不(Google Chrome doesn)支持多个带有标签的窗口。对于大多数人来说，这在某些时候会成为问题，因为将屏幕分成两个带有特定选项卡集的窗口是一种常见的需求。
显然这不是Dex的错，因为谷歌(Google)必须更新Chrome才能以这种方式运行，但它确实暴露了(Chrome)Dex目前有多少杂乱无章。毕竟，应用程序开发人员没有义务遵守Dex约定。
使用 Windows(Working With Windows)
虽然 Dex 可能看起来(look )像Windows 或类似的东西(Windows or something)，但当您实际尝试使用诸如Windows之类的 UI 元素时，缺乏细化很快就会变得明显。
在Windows中，使用各种手势将打开的窗口立即捕捉到各种配置中已成为第二天性。最常用的必须是旧的侧扣。将窗口推到屏幕的两侧会立即占据一半的空间。例如，如果您需要同时打开网页和文字处理器(word processor)，这是一个关键功能。
不幸的是，将窗户撞到Dex 桌面(Dex desktop)的侧面与辛巴撞到他死去的父亲(Simba bumping up against his dead dad)在狮子王(Lion King)中的效果差不多。也就是说(Which)，绝对没有任何事情发生。因此，手动调整窗口大小是一件苦差事，并且真的让整个体验陷入困境。
冲出去又回来(Dashing Out & Coming Back)
Dex真正大放异彩的一个地方就是不碍事。首先，当(First)Dex运行时，我们的手机可以愉快地作为手机工作。很容易忘记您的手机实际上是在为PC 体验(PC experience)提供动力。直到你不假思索地取消它，图片就消失了。
好消息是，只需再次将手机插接即可恢复原样，除非您在手机模式下(phone mode)手动关闭应用程序。因此，作为一个可以随心所欲地离开和来到的解决方案，Dex获得了满分。
Dex 准备好迎接黄金时段了吗？(Is Dex Ready For Primetime?)
最简洁的答案是不”。对于任何想要(anyone wanting)持续高效工作的人来说， Dex实在是太有限太笨重了。Dex真正闪耀的地方是紧要关头或桌面 PC(desktop PC)需求非常有限的用户。这是将电视临时转换为计算机以撰写论文的好方法，但作为日常生产驱动程序(production driver)，它还没有。
然而， Dex很接近，复制用户在更(Dex)成熟的桌面(mature desktop) 操作系统(OSes)中依赖的一些生活质量功能将大大有助于使三星 Dex(Samsung Dex)可行。说服或赞助更多流行生产力应用程序(productivity apps)的开发人员包括Dex 优化(Dex optimisation)，最终将达成交易。
Using Samsung Dex As Your Only PC – Is It Possible?
Our smartphones are now so powerful that they rival cеrtain desktоp and laptop solutions. Within that slim рhone body you’ll find a full-on general-рurpose computer, limited only bу the mobile operating interface designed for touchscreen use.
The Android operating system actually has an upcoming desktop environment where you can hook up a mouse, screen and keyboard to your Android device and use it pretty much as a PC. However, Samsung has done something special for their premium line of smartphones. It’s called Samsung Dex and offers a very intriguing value proposition.
What Is Samsung Dex?
Starting with the Galaxy S8 series of phones, users can buy a special Dex Station, which allows you to plug a screen, mouse and keyboard into the device. Your Galaxy S phone is then docked on the station and automatically launches the Dex environment.
At the time of writing, the Note 10 and Note 10+ phones offer Dex without the need for a dock. You can use a USB-C cable and the Samsung Dex app to run Dex on Windows or Mac. Pretty useful if you want to have a private desktop environment on a public PC or any machine that doesn’t belong to you.
The Note 10+ can also be used for Dex by connecting it directly to and external display via USB-C. The phone screen becomes a touchpad and of course you can also connect a keyboard wirelessly. Turning your phone into a desktop PC within seconds.
Finally, certain Samsung Tablets, such as the Galaxy Tab S4, can be switched to Dex mode with a tap. Connect a mouse and keyboard and it’s a bit like having a laptop.
Our Crazy Dex Mission
It’s a neat idea, but just how practical is Dex? The crazy mission we’ve accepted is to use nothing but Samsung Dex for one whole day of typical work. The goal is to see how viable it would be to use a Dex-enabled smartphone as your only computer. Taking the phone with you when away from a desk and docking it when you sit down for more serious purposes.
We’ll be using a Note 10+ via the Samsung Dex application, but the test applies to any Dex-enabled phone. Apart from performance, which is obviously going to vary from model to model.
The Dex Desktop Environment
The Dex desktop should be pretty familiar to anyone who has used Windows, Ubuntu Linux, MacOS or any modern PC operating system. There’s a wallpaper, there are icons and a sort-of start menu.
The big difference here is having your apps open as windows. Some apps, like Google Chrome, behave in a similar way to the Windows version when it comes to moving them about. Others are just the normal app encapsulated in a window.
It’s very simple and straightforward, which is a good thing overall. The UI is rather chunky and you’re always aware of this still being a phone you’re working on, but it gets the broad strokes right.
Multitasking
Given that your specific Dex device is up to it, multitasking is by and large a breeze. In the case of the Note 10+ which we used for this experiment, there’s a whopping 12GB of RAM on tap. So opening a bunch of apps or internet tabs never posed an issue.
That’s not to say that there are significant niggles. For one thing, most apps aren’t designed with Dex in mind, which means they don’t conform to the same conventions. There are also limitations to software here that aren’t present on more traditional desktop setups.
Notably, Google Chrome doesn’t support having multiple windows with tabs. For most people that is going to be a problem at some point, because splitting your screen into two windows with specific sets of tabs is a common need.
Clearly this isn’t the fault of Dex, since Google would have to update Chrome to run in this manner, but it does expose how much of a kludge Dex is at the moment. After all, app developers are under no obligation to conform to Dex conventions.
Working With Windows
While Dex might look like Windows or something like it, the lack of refinement quickly becomes apparent when you actually try to work with UI elements such as Windows.
In Windows, it’s become second nature to use the various gestures that instantly snap open windows into various configurations. The most used one has to be the good old side-snap. Pushing a window against the sides of the screen will make it take up half the space instantly. If you need to have, for example, a web page and a word processor open at the same time, this is a critical feature.
Unfortunately bumping a window against the side of the Dex desktop is about as effective as Simba bumping up against his dead dad in The Lion King. Which is to say that absolutely nothing happens. Manually resizing windows is therefore a chore and really bogged down the whole experience.
Dashing Out & Coming Back
One place where Dex really did shine is in staying out of the way. First of all, our phone blissfully kept working as a phone while Dex was running. It’s easy to forget that your phone is actually powering the PC experience. Until you thoughtlessly undock it and the picture disappears.
The good news is that simply docking the phone again brings things back exactly as they were, unless you manually killed an app while in phone mode. So as a solution where you can leave and come as you please, Dex gets full marks.
Is Dex Ready For Primetime?
The short answer is “no”. Dex is simply too limited and too clunky for anyone wanting to do sustained productive work. Where Dex really shines is in a pinch or for users who have very limited desktop PC needs. It’s a great way to temporarily convert a TV into a computer for the purposes of writing an essay, but as a daily production driver it’s not there yet.
Dex is close however, copying some of the quality-of-life features users have come to rely on in more mature desktop OSes will go a long way to making Samsung Dex viable. Convincing or sponsoring more developers of popular productivity apps to include Dex optimisation, will finally seal the deal.
