LG's Android 10 update came with a surprise desktop mode

What you need to know

• LG's recent Android 10 update has been rolling out lately and included a surprise desktop mode.
• The feature wasn't mentioned in the changelog but was recently shown off by Juan Carlos Bagnell on his Twitch stream.
• It works very similar to Samsung's DeX and only requires a USB-C to HDMI adapter to use it with an external monitor.

Generally, when you see articles about LG and updates, it's in reference to how slow the South Korean company is at pushing them out, and rightfully so. LG has had a particularly bad reputation when it comes to timely updates, but that's not what we're here to talk about today.

Instead, we're here to give LG credit for a new feature that was included in the Android 10 update but wasn't even mentioned in the release notes. It turns out, LG added a new desktop mode in its Android 10 update, which began rolling out to the G8 ThinQ and V50 ThinQ recently.

If you're aware of Samsung's DeX mode, then you'll find the new desktop mode to be very similar. As with DeX, all you need is a USB-C to HDMI adapter to connect your LG smartphone to a display. Once connected, you'll be presented with a notification on the phone for screen sharing mode. After you click on the notification, it will output a full desktop environment on your monitor from your phone.

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It mimics a lot of what you'd see from a traditional Windows PC desktop UI, with a wallpaper where you can pin shortcuts to apps, as well as a miniature taskbar at the bottom where you can access the navigation keys and notifications from your phone.

We were first made aware of the new desktop mode after Juan Carlos Bagnell demoed it on his Twitch stream. During the stream, he shows off playing games as well as opening up multiple apps in windowed mode demoing how well it can multitask, even being able to edit video with multiple apps opened.

We should note that Android 10 actually introduced a desktop mode of its own. However, it pales in comparison to the options offered by other manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, and Huawei, which have gone above and beyond in creating a more friendly and usable desktop mode.