Android has toyed with desktop modes for a while now, but only Samsung’s DeX has actually come to fruition. Android Authority has been keeping an eye on a rumored revamp of Android desktop mode, though, and discovered that it now not only runs on external monitors, but also directly on tablets.
The years-old feature was originally aimed at developers for testing apps, but Google has since added some new windowing options and, if this discovery is anything to go by, may be planning to bring the desktop experience to a wider audience.
While we don’t know anything for sure yet, the idea does make sense considering you can now use Samsung DeX mode directly on newer Galaxy tablet models, and Google may want a similar feature for the rumored Pixel Tablet successor.
A video on Android Authority shows the quick transition into desktop mode, where it’s possible to open apps as floating windows and move, resize, or snap them to the side of the screen.
One key difference between the current state of Android desktop mode and Samsung DeX is that the Android version creates a completely separate desktop environment, while DeX merges the tablet Home Screen with desktop-like features.
This could just be because we’re dealing with an unfinished version, but there’s also a chance that it could be by design. If that’s the case, it could be possible to create an experience where users are swapping between tablet and desktop modes at will — something DeX can’t do.
It’s probably a little too soon to get excited, however, since Google hasn’t announced anything about the feature and it could just as easily disappear in later versions of the Android 15 Beta.
Affinity’s new all-in-one creative app is finally coming to the iPad, nearly a year after Canva launched the redesigned desktop version for Mac and Windows. Creatives have been asking for the iPad release ever since, especially because files created in the new Affinity app cannot be opened in the older V2 iPad apps.
Affinity already has Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps on iPad, but the new release combines those tools into the same unified app that Canva launched on desktop last year.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Apple has just launched its latest iPad mini with a notable set of upgrades, including an OLED screen, improved speakers, and a more resilient build. It also gets a new chip, and the whole package costs $200 more than its predecessor. But if you look closely at Apple’s online store, you’ll realize that $699 isn’t enough to get you the most powerful version of the A20 Pro chip inside this tablet. In fact, even if you pay $800 for the 256GB model, you still won’t get the beefiest variant. Only when you jump to the 512GB trim, which costs an absurd $999, do you get the most powerful flavor of the A20 Pro.
The $999 model gets more than extra storage