Google Treats the Pixel Fold Like a Phone, Not a Tablet, Even When It Shouldn’t

The desktop mode will be released with the all-new Material 3 Expressive in the next quarterly update, which is likely to be in September.

Google is bringing a new desktop mode to Android 16 later this year. However, the way desktop mode works will not be the same across all types of Android devices.

On Pixel phones, desktop mode will only become active when the device is connected to an external screen. Users will be able to use a desktop-like experience on a monitor, but the phone’s own screen will not support windowed multitasking or the full desktop interface, even though the phone itself would be fully functional on its own, as a separate entity.

Tablets, on the other hand, will be able to use desktop mode directly on their built-in screens, whether or not an external display is connected, which makes sense.

But then it gets weird. Foldable ...