Which is finest in 2024?

Linking my phone to my laptop is smart as a result of I can reply calls and obtain notifications on a single platform. It improves my day by day effectivity as a result of I can go away my distracting telephone out of the best way whereas nonetheless with 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’ll be able to see which works higher for you.

Value, availability, and launch date

They’re each free and price making an attempt

One of the best 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 connect with your PC. Hyperlink to Home windows is baked into most trendy Android telephones, together with Samsung, OnePlus, and Pixel. It connects to your PC through the Telephone 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 displays. In 2020, it went wi-fi, utilizing Miracast to connect 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, displays, and tablets.

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

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

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  Samsung DeX

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

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  Hyperlink to Home windows

  Hyperlink to Home windows is a straightforward option to join your telephone to your PC, so you’ll be able to 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 on your comfort

DeX is flexible and might hook up with non-Home windows units like TVs, Tablets, and displays. One of the best connection methodology is dependent upon what system you are connecting to and its ports and capabilities. Most laptops, tablets, and TVs can hook up 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 wish a separate mouse and keyboard for navigation.

Downloading Dex is step one to getting it going. Then, you’ll be able to determine whether or not to attach utilizing your commonplace 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 robotically 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 steady connection and might 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 steady 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 have the ability to entry the web for searching or streaming. One other good thing about the cable connection is that it prices my telephone whereas working, so I needn’t fear about battery life. This won’t be a giant deal at house, however it may be a lifesaver once I work on the go and do not have energy sockets close by.

Then again, 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 option to run it so it does not intrude with my mouse actions or take up invaluable desk house.

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 a listing of units to connect with. After 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 provides the identical options, however its stability is predicated on sign power and might fluctuate relying on distance and community visitors. Utilizing Dex wirelessly impacts my telephone’s battery life, however its impression is not sufficient to offset its comfort and practicality. After I’m completed, 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 displays. The telephone and desktop apps must be baked into your telephone and laptop computer, however you may want a Microsoft account for them to work.

Not like Dex, Hyperlink to Home windows solely works wirelessly, and you will not have the ability 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 essential open the Telephone 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 bear in mind the settings and join robotically 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’re going to work concurrently over Wi-Fi, however the connection could be unstable.

You too can 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 while you open the second.

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Dex and Hyperlink to Home windows differ however share comparable 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 every little thing 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 reduce if I wish to swap to my Home windows desktop. One of many advantages of this method 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 potentialities as a result of you’ll be able to 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’ll be able to take pleasure in enjoying them with a mouse and keyboard as a substitute 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 a substitute of switching between them on my telephone.

Probably the greatest issues about Dex is the fluid expertise. It is at all times 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’ll be able to even improve its capabilities to speak in confidence to 5 apps at a time or show greater resolutions.

Hyperlink to Home windows works the alternative option to DeX, and my PC controls my telephone as a substitute of the opposite means round. As soon as linked, Hyperlink to Home windows opens an interface with shortcuts to my messages, pictures, apps, and calls. Most apps work positive, however most are restricted to a smaller vertical window mimicking my telephone, and I will not get a correct desktop expertise. They nonetheless work nicely, and I can open a number of apps concurrently or stream my telephone’s show to my PC. Simple 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 straightforward 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 laptop. One in all 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 finest for you?

They every have professionals and cons

Samsung DeX

Samsung Dex connects your Android telephone to most PCs, displays, and TVs to offer a desktop-like expertise that is incredible 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 finest for Samsung customers? DeX works with a wired or wi-fi connection, making it extra versatile as a result of you should use it in locations with out Wi-Fi or needing to share cellular information. It additionally works on a number of units and might 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 a substitute of a heavy laptop computer while you’re on the go.

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

Then again, DeX lacks an auto-connect function, and I need to manually open the app each time I wish 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 feel it is nice that DeX can take over your laptop’s complete show or work in a window. Nonetheless, switching between my Home windows and DeX interfaces can generally 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 straightforward option to join your telephone to your PC, so you’ll be able to 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 laptop will robotically 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.

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