How Samsung DeX Can Transform Your Enterprise

Let’s face it. No matter how large we make our phones, our phone screens will always be smaller than the PC monitors on our desks. Phones and PCs have their respective use cases, but try to pinch and swipe a mobile phone to carry out complex workplace tasks and you’ll soon reach for a PC. Conversely, when you travel, you would much rather bring your phone over a PC.

Samsung DeX bridges these two user interfaces. It allows you to seamlessly transition from the convenient experience of a mobile device to the complexity and power of a PC. The Samsung DeX technology enables you to display your apps on a full screen monitor (with multiple windows!) as crisply as they appear on your phone.

There are several advantages to the Samsung DeX workspace transformation paradigm:

• IT managers can update a single version of a virtual PC installation and everyone will have the latest build
• Security of apps is centralized and can be managed by the IT department
• The user can bring up a PC instance at the office, disconnect from their monitor there, then reconnect at home to continue where they left off, without moving or carrying sensitive data between two locations
• Open phone apps in multiple windows on a monitor and use them with a mouse and keyboard.

To optimize apps for a bigger screen, a few simple changes must be made to the code. Your app must know, for example, when it is dealing with an actual keyboard rather than an onscreen one, or a mouse rather than someone’s finger.

Optimizing Apps for Samsung DeX

To run smoothly on Samsung DeX, apps must support the following features:

• Multi-density – allows apps to render correctly in different screen sizes and resolutions
• Mouse or trackpad interaction – allows users to use a mouse instead of the touchscreen
• Android N multi-window mode – allows app windows to be resized, as on a desktop
• Runtime configuration changes – facilitates UI changes between mobile and desktop, such as resolution and screen size

For additional compatibility (optional) in desktop mode, your apps can be modified to support features such as mouse right click, keyboard shortcuts, and drag and drop. For a full guide on how to optimize your apps for Samsung DeX, see our developer documentation.

A number of popular apps, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Adobe Photoshop Express, have already been optimized for Samsung DeX. If you already have them installed, you can simply launch them in DeX mode.

Using the Knox SDK with Samsung DeX

You can use also the Knox SDK to customize Samsung DeX and implement various security policies to secure the desktop environment.

Samsung DeX-specific API methods in the Knox SDK include:

• Changing DeX launcher layout
• Changing DeX launcher URL or app shortcuts
• Setting DeX launcher logo
• Enable screen timeouts after a specified duration of inactivity
• Enforce Ethernet connections
• Enforce virtual MAC addresses for DeX mode

For a full list of Samsung DeX API methods, see the DeXManager class in the Knox SDK API reference. For full details on how to develop for Samsung DeX using the Knox SDK, see Samsung DeX and Knox.

Try Out DeX

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Join the DeX and Knox team at SDC

At this year's Samsung Developer Conference, we'll be talking more about DeX and Knox. Join us!