The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro may take a page out of Samsung’s list of features for its top-tier Galaxy smartphone lineup by bringing in external display support for both flagships. This means that when a monitor is connected via USB-C port to the upcoming Pixel handset, it is rumored that users will get a ‘larger’ Android workspace to play with.

More specifically, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will get USB DisplayPort alternate mode

A USB-C port does not need to have Thunderbolt support to be able to recognize external displays, as the connector is also able to recognize the DisplayPort alternate mode. Since the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are not thick enough to support those large HDMI ports, USB DisplayPort alternate mode becomes the next best thing.

Kamila Wojciechowska, who has garnered a reputation for delivering near-accurate information about future smartphones and chipset releases, has commented that according to a source inside Google, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will provide better use cases for customers.

Unfortunately, some details are not provided, such as whether Google will force users to purchase a separate dock to enable desktop mode with its two flagships or will the mode depend on a single USB-C cable that needs to be connected to the smartphone and display.

Secondly, will Google have a dedicated app with which users can enable this desktop mode, much like what Samsung does with DeX, or will the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro offer a seamless ‘plug n play’ solution? Given that the Tensor G3 will have a 9-core CPU and faster UFS 4.0 storage support, it should not only open up apps faster but also have sufficient processing power to handle productivity apps, such as word processing, and do a little video streaming.

We wonder how Google will make its Docs productivity suite scale properly with external displays with thousands of panel and resolution combinations. We have witnessed that several Windows 10 and Windows 11 third-party programs fail miserably on this front, so it is interesting to see how Google can counter this challenge.

News Source: Android Authority