Samsung DeX

Samsung DeX is a companion experience that lets a supported Galaxy phone or tablet present a desktop-style workspace, with apps running in windows and support for a mouse and keyboard.

It is best suited to people who already rely on DeX and want a desktop-like view of their mobile apps, especially when working on a larger screen. On Mac, its value depends heavily on whether you already have the DeX for PC app set up, because official macOS support has ended.

From phone apps to a desktop-style workspace

DeX shifts your Galaxy device into a layout that feels closer to a traditional computer desktop, including access to your mobile apps in that environment. A taskbar-style strip anchors the experience, giving you quick access to core navigation and app switching, plus common status items like time, date, and battery information.

Multiwindow behavior that helps with real multitasking

A big part of DeX is its windowed approach. Apps open in their own windows and provide familiar window controls such as minimizing and maximizing. DeX also offers options that keep a window above others and lets you adjust window transparency, which can be handy when you need to reference one app while working in another. App resizing is not perfectly consistent across the board, though, and some apps adapt better to windowed layouts than others.

Mouse and keyboard support, including DeX for PC workflows

DeX is designed to be driven with a mouse and keyboard once the desktop view is on screen. Samsung also describes using DeX for PC to connect your Galaxy device to a computer and work with DeX there, using computer-style input rather than relying on touch.

Mac support: the biggest limitation

For macOS specifically, the headline is that Samsung has terminated the DeX for PC service for Mac. In practical terms, that means no ongoing macOS support and no updates for the Mac app, and Samsung no longer provides macOS download links for the DeX installation files. If DeX for Mac is already installed, it can still be usable, but it is now a “use at your own risk” situation from a support standpoint.

What still makes sense for Mac users

Even with the Mac app discontinued, the DeX platform itself can still be used in its standalone form by connecting a supported Galaxy device directly to an external display, then pairing a keyboard and mouse to control the DeX desktop.