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It seems that the new Galaxy Z Flip 6 comes with a desktop mode, although it is not Samsung DeX. Officially, no model in the Galaxy Z Flip lineup has supported DeX, the desktop mode of flagship Samsung phones. However, there is a way to force a similar feature in the latest Z Flip.
As spotted by Android expert Mishaal Rahman, Galaxy Z Flip 6 users can enable the “force desktop mode” option in One UI 6.1.1 settings to get an experience of this kind, but it is different from DeX. According to the report, after enabling the option and connecting the device to an external screen, it will display a desktop-style UI. For reference, this option does not work on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
There’s a desktop mode on the Galaxy Z Flip 6, but it’s still not Samsung DeX
This desktop UI is less capable than the official DeX experience. The report describes the UI as an intermediate point between Android’s base desktop mode and Dex. It lacks some basic features, like a taskbar, although the multi-window feature seems to work decently, even allowing you to resize and move app windows.
Anyway, in its current state, this forced desktop mode is kind of buggy. For example, if you try to use the split-screen feature, it will be displayed on the phone screen instead of the external screen. Also, the “maximize” and “minimize” buttons for windows do not work. Currently, it is unknown if Samsung will polish this Galaxy Z Flip 6 “forced” desktop mode in the future. However, it would be a welcome addition for fans of these foldables.
Official word on the lack of DeX support for Z Flip devices
According to Samsung, the lack of DeX support in the Galaxy Z Flip lineup is due to thermal issues. It seems that the company found that the particular structure of these phones results in overheating when using DeX. In fact, no Z Flip model even supported video output until the arrival of the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Although the Z Flip 5 gained video output, it still did not support DeX. For now, owners of the new Galaxy Z Flip 6 looking for a pseudo-desktop experience will have to settle for the current buggy and incomplete version.