With its Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung has sufficiently improved the USB-C port of its device to allow theoretical compatibility with DeX. And yet Samsung’s new folding smartphone strangely doesn’t support it.
Why doesn’t the brand new Galaxy Z Flip 5 support Samsung DeX? If the limitation of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 to the USB 2.0 standard explained this shortcoming, the Flip 5’s adoption of the USB 3.2 standard makes this absence much less understandable. From a technological point of view, the device indeed meets the criteria for offering DeX.
Interested folding smartphone users are therefore forced to turn to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to take advantage of this function… a bulkier product, more expensive, and which is not quite aimed at the same audience.
DeX Mode, what is it again?
As a reminder, the DeX mode makes it possible to transform certain Samsung smartphones into real “ central unit “. Simply connect an eligible smartphone to an external monitor, then connect a keyboard and mouse to it, to turn it into a (quasi) desktop PC.
DeX then transforms the interface of the mobiles concerned into a desktop interface. It is then possible to use the applications and the files of the telephone as one would do on a PC, and even to launch certain applications reserved, precisely, for the PC world. A feature particularly appreciated within companies and certain administrations (even the Chicago Police Department has started using it), and which would have been very relevant on the Z Flip 5. It is indeed one of the most “small » smartphones from Samsung when folded.
Why Samsung deprives its Z Flip 5 of DeX?
Mystery and rubber ball, or almost. As mentioned above, the device now benefits from the USB 3.2 standard and manages theDisplayPort Alt Mode(of which his predecessor was deprived),required for DeX. XDA Developers was also able to measure transfer speeds of up to 1.7 Gbps on the device’s USB-C port. Again, this would theoretically be enough to enable DeX support.
Since the Galaxy Z Fold 5 supports DeX mode, it’s a safe bet that the lack of compatibility for the Flip 5 is not a simple oversight, but rather a decision by Samsung. As it stands, the only apparent explanation for this trade-off has to do with the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s more modest battery. Samsung may have felt that it wouldn’t allow for a sufficiently interesting experience under DeX mode.
To follow us, we invite you to download our Android and iOS application. You can read our articles, files, and watch our latest YouTube videos.