Android 10 includes a Windows-like desktop feature, but it remains largely unknown to the general public. Taskbar version 6.0 allows us to use this feature thanks to the developer's skill in creating a Samsung DeX-style desktop on some Android 10 and later devices.
We're talking about an app that has been featured here before as a launcher with a desktop bar that simulates the desktop experience of operating systems like Windows. The developer has shown great skill in bringing this experience to a platform similar to what we find on Galaxy devices with Samsung DeX.
The secret feature of Android 10
To understand a little about how this type of experience can be activated, we need to know that in Android 10, the guys at Google included a secondary launcher activity in Launcher3, the AOSP launcher app from which applications like Google's Pixel Launcher and a number of other third-party launchers are derived.
However, when an Android device with external display support is connected to one , this Secondary Launcher activity appears on the connected screen. The problem is that this "launcher" is in a very rudimentary state and isn't ready to provide the user experience we're used to.
This is where the skill of the Taskbar developer comes in, replacing the default launcher on the external screen with their own. Taskbar is an app that places a floating home menu and a recent apps menu on any screen. Since it supports Android's multi-window mode, it also includes the installation of Bliss OS, an Android port for x86 PCs.
Now we jump to November of last year to find farmerbb, who released a fork of the open-source Lawnchair launcher with an integrated Taskbar. Thanks to this fork, we were able to get an idea of ​​what Android 10's hidden desktop mode would look like. All the problems were related to multi-window management in that fork, but the Taskbar developer has now fixed it in version 6.0.
How to configure Desktop Mode in Taskbar 6.0
It's not too complicated as long as you know how to use ADB commands and the developer menu. Here's how to configure desktop mode:
- In the Developer Options, we activate «activate windows free mode "and" force desktop mode»And then we just restart the mobile
- Now is the time to install the Taskbar 6.0 app:
- After starting the Taskbar app, we go to the settings to «desktop mode». We activate it and give the permission to "show on other apps"
- Now is when we have to configure this app as the default launcher
- The next is follow the instructions when activating "enable additional settings" or "enable additional settings" for desktop mode. The reason for this is to lower the DPI so that the icons do not appear large, hide the navigation bar and even darken the screen when we have the device connected to the external screen. So that we can do all these tasks we must activate this ADB command:
adb shell pm grant com.farmerbb.taskbar android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS- Remember if you use the donation version You must replace 'com.farmerbb.taskbar' with 'com.farmerbb.taskbar.paid'
- We check that "access to use" is activated for Taskbar
- Now we only have to connect our device to the external screen to use that Samsung DeX-type desktop mode with Taskbar 6.0
We recommend using a keyboard and mouse whenever possible to mimic a desktop experience, as Taskbar 6.0 still has its limitations. The biggest limitations of Taskbar 6.0's desktop mode are found in the apps that support it, so while it can be very useful for certain tasks, it still falls short of simulating the desktop experience of other operating systems.
