Which is greatest in 2024?

Linking my phone to my laptop is sensible as a result of I can reply calls and obtain notifications on a single platform. It improves my each day effectivity as a result of I can depart my distracting telephone out of the way in which whereas nonetheless having the ability to entry its core features once I must. I additionally do not want pesky cables as a result of my telephone connects to my laptop computer through the shared Wi-Fi connection.

Samsung DeX and the Hyperlink to Home windows apps are the 2 best methods to attach Android telephones to a Windows After taking a deep dive into these two rival platforms, hopefully you possibly can see which works higher for you.

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Value, availability, and launch date

They’re each free and price making an attempt

The most effective factor about Samsung Dex and Hyperlink to Home windows is that they’re free apps constructed into Samsung and Android units. DeX is unique to Samsung telephones and requires the companion DeX Home windows app from the Samsung website or Galaxy retailer to hook up with your PC. Hyperlink to Home windows is baked into most fashionable Android telephones, together with Samsung, OnePlus, and Pixel. It connects to your PC through the Cellphone Hyperlink app preinstalled on Home windows 11.

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Samsung DeX was launched in 2017 with a docking station providing two USB-As, an HDMI 2.0, Ethernet, and a USB-C port for connecting your telephone to a monitor and including mice and keyboards. In 2018, the DeX HDMI adapter, DeX USB-C to male HDMI cable, and the DeX Pad with a USB-C port, HDMI, and two USB-A ports phased out the docking station. DeX advanced additional in 2019, solely needing an everyday charging cable to work on laptops and screens. In 2020, it went wi-fi, utilizing Miracast to hook up with different units.

In its present kind, DeX can convert your Samsung telephone’s interface right into a desktop expertise that works on TVs, computer systems, screens, and tablets.

Hyperlink to Home windows runs in your telephone and connects to its companion app, Cellphone Hyperlink, in your PC. Cellphone Hyperlink began life because the Your Cellphone app, which was launched in 2018 for PC customers to view their Android galleries and ship SMS messages. It turned a normal function on Samsung telephones in 2020 and gained the power to make and obtain calls on a linked PC.

In 2022, the desktop app was up to date and re-branded to Cellphone Hyperlink, whereas its companion telephone app turned Hyperlink to Home windows.

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  Samsung DeX

  Samsung Dex connects your Android telephone to most PCs, screens, and TVs to offer a desktop-like expertise that is improbable for multitasking and boosting effectivity.

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  Hyperlink to Home windows

  Hyperlink to Home windows is a simple technique to join your telephone to your PC, so you possibly can take calls, entry your gallery, or obtain notifications in your desktop.

Dex and Hyperlink to Home windows provide a number of connection strategies

Wired and wi-fi connections to your comfort

DeX is flexible and may connect with non-Home windows units like TVs, Tablets, and screens. The most effective connection technique relies on what system you are connecting to and its ports and capabilities. Most laptops, tablets, and TVs can connect with DeX with a cable and work wirelessly, offered they share the identical Wi-Fi community. Displays sometimes work with a USB-C to HDMI cable and want a separate mouse and keyboard for navigation.

Downloading Dex is step one to getting it going. Then, you possibly can determine whether or not to attach utilizing your customary USB-C charging cable or wirelessly.

Connecting with a USB-C cable is straightforward. I simply plug one finish into my telephone and the opposite into my laptop computer. The DeX desktop app routinely detects my telephone and asks me to press the Begin Now button on the cellular app to hyperlink the 2. After that, I’ve a secure connection and may use DeX to reply calls, reply to WhatsApp messages, or entry the AI instruments in my picture editor.

Utilizing a cable simplifies the method as a result of it is secure and works with out requiring a Wi-Fi connection. I can entry my telephone’s apps even when Wi-Fi and cellular information are turned off, however I will not be capable to entry the web for looking or streaming. One other good thing about the cable connection is that it expenses my telephone whereas working, so I needn’t fear about battery life. This may not be a giant deal at residence, however it may be a lifesaver once I work on the go and do not have energy sockets close by.

Alternatively, utilizing a cable requires a free port, which is scarce on my laptop computer once I have already got a mouse, dongle, and different peripherals linked. I additionally must have the cable with me and discover a technique to run it so it does not intervene with my mouse actions or take up worthwhile desk area.

Connecting wirelessly is equally easy if my telephone and laptop computer are on the identical Wi-Fi community. I open DeX on my telephone, and it reveals an inventory of units to hook up with. Once I click on on my laptop computer’s title, it opens up the affirmation display, and I click on on Begin now to run the desktop app.

I discover it simpler to make use of DeX wirelessly as a result of I do not want a cable, and it’ll work if my telephone’s in a separate room. It connects immediately and presents the identical options, however its stability is predicated on sign energy and may fluctuate relying on distance and community site visitors. Utilizing Dex wirelessly impacts my telephone’s battery life, however its affect is not sufficient to offset its comfort and practicality. Once I’m executed, I faucet the Exit button on my telephone to disconnect.

As its title suggests, Hyperlink to Home windows works on Home windows 11 units and is not appropriate with TVs and screens. The telephone and desktop apps needs to be baked into your telephone and laptop computer, however you may want a Microsoft account for them to work.

In contrast to Dex, Hyperlink to Home windows solely works wirelessly, and you will not be capable to use a cable. Most Hyperlink to Home windows options work over your shared Wi-Fi community, and calls undergo Bluetooth. To get it going, it’s good to open the Cellphone Hyperlink app in your PC, which can generate a QR code. Then, scan the QR code together with your telephone’s Hyperlink to the Home windows app and check in to your Microsoft account to finish the setup. After pairing for the primary time, Hyperlink to Home windows will keep in mind the settings and join routinely sooner or later when your telephone is in vary.

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DeX and Hyperlink to Home windows can run in your PC concurrently, however there is a trick to it. DeX will not work if Hyperlink to Home windows is already linked. It would show an error message asking you to shut Hyperlink to Home windows earlier than continuing. You possibly can run Hyperlink to Home windows if DeX is already linked. They will work concurrently over Wi-Fi, however the connection may be unstable.

You can even concurrently run sure apps, like your gallery or telephone dialer, in DeX and Hyperlink to Home windows. Others, just like the calculator, will not work concurrently, and the primary app window will shut if you open the second.

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Dex and Hyperlink to Home windows differ however share related options

Run apps, reply calls, and extra

Samsung DeX permits me to make use of all my telephone’s options on a desktop interface once I join it to a appropriate PC or laptop computer. This implies I can entry all of your apps, make and obtain calls, and do the whole lot I can on my telephone. The app successfully takes management of my PC and shows its interface in a separate window that I can rapidly decrease if I need to change to my Home windows desktop. One of many advantages of this technique is you could join DeX to an outdated laptop computer, and it’ll nonetheless work the identical as a result of your telephone does all of the heavy lifting.

DeX opens up many prospects as a result of you possibly can work on paperwork and spreadsheets on a bigger show, and it is simpler to browse your gallery and edit photos. Many cellular video games work with DeX, so you possibly can take pleasure in enjoying them with a mouse and keyboard as an alternative of imprecise contact controls. DeX helps me multitask as a result of I can open my messages, emails, calls, and WhatsApp home windows concurrently as an alternative of switching between them on my telephone.

Probably the greatest issues about Dex is the fluid expertise. It is all the time easy and responsive when opening home windows or clicking on icons. For those who use the MultiStar module in Samsung’s GoodLock app suite, you possibly can even improve its capabilities to confide in 5 apps at a time or show greater resolutions.

Hyperlink to Home windows works the other technique to DeX, and my PC controls my telephone as an alternative of the opposite manner round. As soon as linked, Hyperlink to Home windows opens an interface with shortcuts to my messages, pictures, apps, and calls. Most apps work fantastic, however most are restricted to a smaller vertical window mimicking my telephone, and I will not get a correct desktop expertise. They nonetheless work properly, and I can open a number of apps concurrently or stream my telephone’s show to my PC. Straightforward file switch is one other good thing about Hyperlink to Home windows as a result of I can copy and paste photos and different media from the app onto my PC.

The Hyperlink to Home windows interface is simply as easy and responsive as DeX, and its minimalist fashion makes it simple for anybody to make use of. Nonetheless, it does not present the desktop-like really feel of DeX and is extra like one other window working in your pc. One in every of my petty gripes is that I will need to have my telephone readily available as a result of Hyperlink to Home windows asks me to unlock it to entry sure apps.

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Which linking app is greatest for you?

They every have professionals and cons

Samsung DeX

Samsung Dex connects your Android telephone to most PCs, screens, and TVs to offer a desktop-like expertise that is improbable for multitasking and boosting effectivity.

DeX is unique to Samsung telephones, so different Android customers are higher off with Hyperlink to Home windows by default. However which app is greatest for Samsung customers? DeX works with a wired or wi-fi connection, making it extra versatile as a result of you should utilize it in locations with out Wi-Fi or needing to share cellular information. It additionally works on a number of units and may flip your outdated Home windows laptop computer or monitor right into a productiveness PC, stream content material to your TV, play cellular video games on a monitor, or use your pill as an alternative of a heavy laptop computer if you’re on the go.

The DeX interface presents a desktop-like really feel with a begin menu and taskbar that will probably be acquainted to anybody with an Android telephone or Chromebook. I all the time really feel at residence utilizing DeX and love that I can open a number of cellular apps on my PC to enhance my effectivity.

Alternatively, DeX lacks an auto-connect function, and I need to manually open the app at any time when I need to use it. If the Hyperlink to Home windows app is open, I must dig into my settings and shut it earlier than making an attempt to run DeX, in any other case I will get an error message. I believe it is nice that DeX can take over your pc’s entire show or work in a window. Nonetheless, switching between my Home windows and DeX interfaces can typically get overwhelming once I’m busy and looking for the place my notifications are coming from.

Hyperlink to Home windows

Hyperlink to Home windows is a simple technique to join your telephone to your PC, so you possibly can take calls, entry your gallery, or obtain notifications in your desktop.

Hyperlink to Home windows works on most Android telephones however solely with a wi-fi connection, and it nonetheless wants Bluetooth to deal with calls. It is simpler to arrange than DeX as a result of the cellular and PC linking apps are constructed into their respective units and do not require any downloads to get them working. The auto-connect function is one other bonus as a result of your telephone and pc will routinely sync after linking for the primary time with out person intervention.

Hyperlink to Home windows feels extra like a Home windows 11 app than a separate entity, and its integration into the taskbar makes it simpler to navigate and examine. It is user-friendly and responsive however does not provide the identical desktop-like really feel or full-screen apps like DeX.

General, I might say that it is a toss-up between the 2, relying on what you are utilizing it for. DeX is the higher selection for heavier duties like multitasking and working a number of cellular apps on a big desktop. Hyperlink to Home windows presents extra comfort and is healthier if you need a hassle-free app for taking calls and answering messages in your Home windows pc.