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Samsung's Upcoming Galaxy S8 Smartphone Could Run a PC - Report (cnbc.com)
Samsung's upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone could give users the ability to plug it into a screen and turn it into a desktop personal computer, according to a media report. From the article: The All About Windows Phone blog posted a leaked slide from a presentation showing a Samsung smartphone being connected to a screen with a keyboard and mouse. The slide is titled "Samsung Desktop Experience" and shows a phone powering a screen to create a multi-tasking interface, presumably running on Google's Android mobile operating system. There is not much more information on the slide than a visual representation, but if this is true, it'd be an interesting feature that Samsung will tout as it launches its next flagship phone, one that is crucial to make up the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 which was subsequently recalled.
And have no battery life..
No good deed goes unpunished.
Hey guys, it seems like the New Year cheer ran well into the new year at /. central as the work on summaries has been terrible.
I presume the subject title should be "Samsung's Upcoming Galaxy S8 Smartphone Could Run AS a PC - Report" - I know TFA's title is poor, but you shouldn't be copying it along without some wordsmithing.
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...connected to a screen with a keyboard and mouse
Interesting. I've never seen a keyboard and mouse used to connect a device to a screen. This truly is newsworthy!
Typical unrealistic Hollywood. Everyone knows Macs can't get viruses.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Yup and I had one 6 years ago, along with the lapdock. So much potential, but they insisted on forcing their own repository on what they called "Ubuntu" (despite not using Ubuntu's repo) and never actually putting any useful working software in it. Sure, there was some useful software, but none of it worked; and there was some working software, but none of it useful.
It also had a fingerprint reader long before Apple or Samsung even considered it.
All in all, it was a decent phone if you ignored the crap desktop implementation; and, since the lapdock was implemented using standard ports (mini-HDMI and micro-USB), I was able to use it for a few projects (as a plug and play component), so it wasn't a wasted purchase.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Android is one of the most secure modern platforms available. Not least because by default you can't even install apps from outside Google Play, and because everything is sandboxed and running on SELinux. The issues that have been found have be mitigated by the layered security model and timely patches via Play (even if the manufacturer doesn't update the OS), which is why we see Smart Lightbulbs and Smart Fridges DDOSing away while the Android botnets are nowhere to be found.
As for why someone would want to use it as a PC, mobile phones are capable gaming platforms now and could even replace the laptop some people take on business trips.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Yea I'm not sure what this article is talking about. Samsung has supported HDMI out over the OTG cable since all the way back to the S3.
The only draw back is you couldn't use the HDMI and the USB host at the same time but you could always hook a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to it.
There are no details in the article that specify weather they're talking about over coming the OTG obstacle or what.
The OP reads more like there's some kind of slick software interface that make the experience more like your current desktop computer.
Of course stock Android already has a desktop mode so this looks mostly like marketing wank.
Android is one of the most secure modern platforms available. Not least because by default you can't even install apps from outside Google Play, and because everything is sandboxed and running on SELinux. The issues that have been found have be mitigated by the layered security model and timely patches via Play (even if the manufacturer doesn't update the OS), which is why we see Smart Lightbulbs and Smart Fridges DDOSing away while the Android botnets are nowhere to be found.
As for why someone would want to use it as a PC, mobile phones are capable gaming platforms now and could even replace the laptop some people take on business trips.
A secure platform only a viable defense when it is supported, and I don't feel like supporting a revenue model where a vendors greed translates to a need to replace my newfangled mobile-OS desktop every year simply because they don't feel like supporting the "old" model anymore. I'm still running a laptop with a fully supported OS that is 6 years old now, bolstered with an increase in RAM and SSD, otherwise known as inexpensive upgrades to avoid wasting hundreds of dollars and filling landfills prematurely with "outdated" hardware.
It's not hard to see Greed scribbling away on the wall with this move. Not to mention this take-it-with-you-everywhere desktop model invading corporations, creating an fucking nightmare for Security, as if users don't lose laptops often enough.
I know many people don't realize this, but high end smartphones have been able to do just that for quite a while now. Mouse and keyboard can be connected by either Bluetooth or USB OtG, and screen could be done either by MHL wired or wireless mirroring.
The problem is the OS and a lack of good standardized accessories. Much like gamepads, it doesn't really matter if tou have the hardware to do it if apps are not gonna support it.
Android alao gives a shit support for most of those things... I had a smartphone with a smashed touchscreen for a while, you can't use the phone without it (some functions are doable, but it's a pretty crappy experience). I had to use apps like Vysor to get by while waiting for replacement parts.
The iPhone is even worse as it doesn't suppory most accessories.