The PC mode of the Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold is a must for foldable smartphones

Android is an operating system designed for smartphones and tablets, but over the years we have seen multiple attempts to turn it into a desktop operating system with custom Launcher apps, custom ROMs, or features like Samsung's DeX, which gives Android taskbar, start menu, and multi-window app support when you attach a keyboard and/or display. Now Xiaomi is getting in on the action with its "PC Mode".

Xiaomi officially followed the foldable smartphone trend this year and, at least at first glance, it looks a lot like what Samsung and, later, Huawei already had. Xiaomi just seemed to be aiming for brand recognition rather than adding unique features. That said, the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold finally got a feature that gives it a one-of-a-kind feature. Ironically, this new PC mode that turns the smartphone into a tablet PC is something Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold lacks, despite being the creator of DeX mode, a fairly analogous approach.

To be clear, the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 2 both offer support for the DeX platform, but they behave more like smartphones than tablets. It only activates if an external display is connected and cannot be activated on the foldable smartphone, even with its large screen. Samsung's high-end Galaxy Tab S tablets, on the other hand, can use DeX directly, turning the tablets into Android laptops.

According to XDA, the Mi Mix Fold has received an update that enables PC mode for the foldable smartphone. Unlike Samsung's implementation for the Galaxy Z Fold, it works directly on the device, even without an external display plugged in. A three-finger swipe from the right edge to the center activates PC mode, preventing accidental triggering.

As the source explains, performing this gesture will rearrange the Android UI, giving you a taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Samsung should learn from it

Once in PC mode, owners of the Mi Mix Fold are greeted by a familiar desktop-like interface, save for a few Android-specific keys like the three navigation buttons in the corner. However, just like with Samsung DeX, some apps aren't made to work that way and may appear in their large smartphone form rather than in tablet mode.

Indeed, although the whole thing looks a lot like Windows or Chrome OS, it's still Android under the hood. But now, when you launch an Android app, it displays in a phone-shaped window rather than full screen. This lets you view up to four apps at once and minimize apps, while still being able to see running apps at a glance through the taskbar. Some apps can be maximized to run full screen in PC mode, while others cannot. And some can be resized to a finer level, allowing you to change the shape or size of the window while still displaying multiple applications simultaneously.

It's definitely a feature the Galaxy Z Fold 3 needs and Samsung is likely to add it now that Xiaomi has it.