Last Sunday not only saw Samsung unleash its newest flagship device offerings (the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9 Plus handsets -- check out their pricing and availability), but also saw the formal debut of the DeX Pad, the South Korean tech giant’s follow up to last year’s DeX Station. Leaker extraordinaire Evan Blass actually tweeted about the DeX Pad more than a couple of weeks ago, and now the device is officially out in the open.
So how does the DeX Pad compare to last year’s DeX dock? Perhaps the biggest difference is that the new model allows Galaxy handsets to lie down flat, as opposed to its predecessor holding up devices on a vertical position. Those already familiar with the earlier model may be delighted to know that this year’s DeX Pad has retained the cooling fan and an array of ports, including HDMI and USB Type C.
Does the DeX Pad’s flat orientation make things better? Possibly -- it can be argued that by allowing newer Galaxy phablets to lie down, their large display screens can serve as touch pads or even as keyboards. Of course, users can still utilize a mouse to interact with their device, but that is no longer necessary.
Samsung has also decided to upgrade the DeX’s compatibility, allowing the DeX Pad to be used with display screens of up to 2K resolution. Previously, the maximum resolution was only at 1,080 p. The compatibility upgrades also apply to mobile apps, even for those not associated with business or productivity (like mobile games, for instance). More importantly, the DeX Pad has compatibility with Samsung’s 2017 flagships, the Galaxy S8 models and the Galaxy Note 8.
There is no way of knowing if Samsung’s DeX Pad will take off with the masses, but one should remember that nobody thought smartphone devices with big display screens will become the new norm either. Technology has always been prone to constant change, but in the world of mobile, new trends have a habit of becoming popular despite looking unorthodox or unexpected at first glance. Today’s smartphones have become so powerful that they basically now can serve as mini-laptops anyway.
Samsung is clearly banking on its DeX Pad helping users (especially those from the business sector) accept the idea of a smartphone not only as their most personal mobile device, but also as a hybrid desktop tool as well. And if enough people start using the DeX Pad regularly, this could in turn encourage app makers to begin developing apps optimized for the gadget.
