Google Pixel 8 gets support for desktop mode with DisplayPort Alt Mode

The Google Pixel 8 may receive support for DisplayPort Alt Mode. This should make it possible to connect the phone to displays, such as a TV or monitor, via USB-C to use the Pixel 8 as a desktop.

Android Authority writes based on an anonymous source at Google that both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will receive support for DisplayPort Alt mode. Although the source does not specifically mention that this will allow you to create a desktop mode when the phone is connected to a display, the site expects it to be so, as that is the most popular feature of this mode.

Developer Mishaal Rahman discovered earlier this year already that Google added support for the DisplayPort Alt Mode in Android 14. Google has also been working gradually on a hidden desktop mode since Android 10, to which some improvements have also been made in the recent Android 14 beta.

Several phone brands have been offering support for a desktop mode through the DisplayPort Alt Mode for several years, including the Samsung Galaxy S models under the name Samsung DeX. Google, on the other hand, has actively deactivated USB-C’s DisplayPort Alt mode for its Pixel phones. It is unclear why Google has decided to disable this feature for years.