Samsung’s Jonathan Wong sat down with TechRepublic’s Dan Patterson and defined how DeX makes use of a cell phone to imitate PC productiveness. The next is an edited transcript of the interview.
Dan Patterson: The Observe 9 is now out, and one of the crucial compelling options, truly one of the crucial compelling options for a very long time, no less than for me personally, has nothing to do with the Observe 9, however is deeply built-in, and that’s the new DeX.
DeX, now we have seen sort of stroll from having the hockey puck the place I might dock my telephone to a little bit slab the place I slid my telephone in. These issues are tremendous and nice, however they don’t seem to be very transportable. DeX, now, is fairly transportable. Not less than, it is as transportable as your HDMI cable. Assist us perceive, particularly for the B2B crowd; in the event you’re touring for enterprise, assist us perceive the iterations of DeX, and the place we at the moment are.
Jon Wong: Positive, completely. At the start, Samsung DeX is our PC-like expertise, powered solely by your Galaxy smartphone. With the Observe 9, it is constructed proper in, and you’ll lengthen that computing energy to the larger display. We have made it simpler, as you talked about, to entry DeX, so all you actually need is a single HDMI adapter, similar to the one you see right here. Plug it immediately into your Note9, and DeX launches.
We made it much more streamlined and extra transportable and accessible to entry DeX, so we’re actually excited to make that simpler for the extremely cellular customers which are all the time working to and from many various locations.
Patterson: That’s sort of my work life. The quantity of occasions I’ve lugged a laptop computer in my backpack and mentioned, “I want I did not must take this by way of safety. I want I did not must set this up, and do bizarre configurations in no matter bizarre lodge room I am at … ” that has lengthy been a want.
Now we see DeX on the massive display, actually proper right here. This seems to be like we’re taking a look at a desktop workstation. It seems to be fairly regular, besides that is powered by the telephone in your head, which is the Observe 9.
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Wong: Completely.
Patterson: And it seems to be and seems like a workstation. Inform me how I am getting extra work completed with the telephone in my pocket.
Wong: Yeah, completely. As you talked about, all I’ve proper right here is the Galaxy Observe 9. Plug it in, through HDMI adapter, to the larger display, and bought this beautiful desktop dwelling display. [You] truly can use the telephone because the touchpad to navigate the expertise. What’s actually nice, is the use-case, the place you are a extremely cellular employee, and also you, to illustrate, work at a house workplace, but additionally go into a company workplace, throughout completely different elements of the day.
You’d be capable of simply know you must carry your Galaxy Observe 9, which inserts in your pocket. You do not have to lug a bag together with your laptop computer and a bunch of your different cables that you just would possibly want, and simply carry your telephone that is with you. Go, join proper in, keep productive together with your paperwork. Do a fast edit to a PowerPoint or a Phrase doc, after which be capable of head to the assembly after which head again dwelling. All that sort of bodily and psychological baggage is actually lifted off your shoulders as a result of you might have Samsung DeX on the Observe 9.
Patterson: So, positively psychological baggage, and I wish to solely simply watch Netflix after I’m touring for work. I do know that we are able to try this with the telephone, however let’s keep in work mode. Present me a productiveness app.
Wong: Positive.
Patterson: Are you able to open up one thing I’d use in my typical workday?
Wong: Yeah, completely. I feel an awesome instance is Microsoft PowerPoint. We help, and have DeX-optimized apps for Microsoft Workplace, whether or not it is Phrase, Excel, or PowerPoint. I am going to truly present you right here what PowerPoint seems to be like in DeX, truly utilizing one other cool function of the Observe 9, which is our S-Pen distant management function.
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Patterson: With the distant management and PowerPoint, I can use the pen that is contained in the machine, and management a presentation, management a deck that appears like this?
Wong: Completely. All I’ve to do proper right here is take out my S-Pen, and now with Bluetooth low-energy. I can truly use it as a distant management. Nice instance is, with this PowerPoint, I can simply click on the button and undergo my slides. Clearly, the good use-case right here is that this Observe 9 machine might be on a desk, linked into a bigger show. I could possibly be working the room, going round to the viewers, partaking with the viewers, and, from as much as 30-feet away, be capable of management the presentation. One click on to go ahead, double-click to return, so that you get that full management functionality.
Patterson: It might be superior if I bought to go to the Matterhorn for work. Take notice, Jason. Nevertheless, typically I’ve to spend so much extra time within productiveness apps. I’ve to ship and obtain emails. I’ve to sort. How does it deal with different Microsoft Workplace functions?
Wong: Oh, all of them run easily, and so they’re all DeX-optimized. We have been working with Microsoft to be sure that their Phrase, Excel, and PowerPoint functions truly work on this greater display view with keyboard mouse.
Patterson: Are you able to energy up Excel or Phrase or one thing?
Wong: Positive, I am going to simply pull them up right here. I’ve PowerPoint open already. You could have Phrase proper right here. You could have Excel proper right here. What’s nice is, what you are seeing are a number of resizable home windows. That is what’s actually superior about DeX, it is actually constructed for multitasking. I’ve a number of home windows. They’re movable. They’re even resizable. I may even go full display, so if I wished to go full display right here, simply click on right here, get the total display real-estate.
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It is actually about productiveness, on the finish of the day. Clearly, you might be very productive simply out of your cellular and your Observe 9. Once you’re again in a desktop atmosphere, you need super-productivity. You need to have the ability to not simply eat content material and edit. You need to have the ability to create large displays, Phrase paperwork, multitask, searching the online, watching movies, all on the identical time. That is what we’re doing with DeX.
Patterson: All proper, so what are the following steps? As we talked about earlier, we had the hockey puck, we had the little slab. Now now we have the HDMI. The place’s DeX going sooner or later?
Wong: One of many key issues we additionally wished to evolve with the Observe 9, along with making it simpler to attach, was with the ability to even take multitasking to the following degree. An amazing instance of that evolution is I used to be utilizing it as a touchpad to work together with the bigger display right here. I can truly use the Observe 9 display utterly as effectively, on the identical time. Principally, you need to use your telephone as a telephone whilst you’re utilizing DeX on the massive display.
An amazing instance is, perhaps I am going to have a video up and working right here, and I need to have the ability to ship a textual content message from my telephone and even use the S-Pen and take a notice. What we’re actually seeing, is these use-cases or that evolution the place you are interacting with the massive display but additionally with the ability to absolutely make the most of your telephone display from a cellular perspective. Having each on the identical time, we predict is a very nice evolution and expertise we’re delivering.
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Going ahead, I feel we actually deal with DeX, as what I name a mobile-powered computing platform. We do not consider it is simply what you talked about, just like the DeX station or a hockey puck or the DeX pad and even the HDMI adapter. It is actually what’s built-in to lots of our cellular gadgets for the reason that Galaxy S8 and now the newest with the Observe 9. It is the machine. It is the software program. It is the apps. It is the info. It is every part that is already constructed into the telephone, and we’re simply bringing that computing expertise to larger screens and completely different environments.
That is the place we’re actually excited, as a result of that may apply to a number of completely different areas and verticals, whether or not that is what I discussed, the place you are only a extremely cellular salesperson or employee who wants a sizzling desk or to work at a shared workspace, or whether or not it is even particular verticals, like public security, the place a legislation enforcement agent desires to have the ability to have DeX of their automobile. Or in finance, in the event you take a look at what’s occurring in a number of branches is how can shoppers higher interact or how can the department supervisor or the banker higher interact with shoppers and prospects coming in. Having an answer that is extremely cellular, like DeX, the place they will interact with the shopper, however then additionally return to their desk and have that productiveness for his or her workstation could be very thrilling.
For us, it is, once more, a platform, a computing platform, the place we will see it sort of evolve inside these completely different verticals.