With the arrival of OneUI 7, Samsung is scrapping support for Dex for Windows. This is apparently a much bigger take-away than Samsung realizes.
What I don't think Samsung truly appreciates is that many of us use Dex for Windows to encapsulate a home computing environment and use it at work, rather than using Dex as a work or productivity tool.
That is, I use Dex for Windows to answer personal emails, access apps and websites for personal use, and otherwise maintain a presence in my personal life while I'm at work. Dex for Windows is better than the phone screen for that purpose for the same reasons Dex is better than the phone's screen for work-related activities.
Other folks use Dex for Windows because it allows them to work in different offices and on customer sites while maintaining their familiar desktop workspace and keeping their work-related files safely on their own devices. Samsung has made a phone with the power of a laptop, so people are using it like one.
So, to my question: What is the recommended setup to replicate Dex for Windows as closely as possible?
So far, what I've come up with is a docking station for the phone with either a KVM switch, or a USB video capture card and a Windows camera viewer program, and a separate (e.g. Bluetooth) mouse and keyboard. I have tested the latter setup, and had some issues with the video quality, but the good news is that the docking station I selected (Plugable USBC-7IN1E) is up to the task, the video looks fine when connected directly to a monitor, and the phone recognizes a wireless mouse/KB transmitter correctly.
Samsung is always coming up with innovative features, often poorly executed, and then ultimately scrapping everything that doesn't ape Apple.
Scrapping Dex for Windows is just one more reason for me to scrap Samsung.
Anyway, there used to be a little Dex module, like a little bowl, kinda. You could connect a keyboard and monitor to it, and then when you set your phone in it, poof, you'd have a computer based on your phone. I see you can't buy that cool gadget anymore, either.
I'm guessing they're trying to reduce Dex to an alternate layout for tablets or just get rid of it altogether.
My guess is that other companies produce better docking stations and layouts. And it looks like you are closer to finding them than I am.
"...there used to be a little Dex module, like a little bowl, kinda. You could connect a keyboard and monitor to it, and then when you set your phone in it, poof, you'd have a computer based on your phone. I see you can't buy that cool gadget anymore, either."
The other name for that is a "docking station". Yes, you can still buy it. It's the same solution as mine but for the fact that some reviewers say that your phone won't fit into it unless you remove the case, so for me it was a non-starter.
With Dex for Windows you don't even need a cable, it will connect as long as the two devices are on the same wifi network. This is an excellent feature that is being deleted for no discernable reason, as it's hard to believe that OneUI 7 is so fundamentally different that the same transports can't be used.
I personally hate that they are doing this. It is my most favorite feature of Samsungs. The Windows interface sucks to no end. I hate it with a passion. I am always having issues with it, and it is in no way, shape, or form is even close to being what Dex is. That is why one of my phones will no longer get updates so I can keep the feature on it. I have Dex backed up and don't need to download it.
As I mentioned in my OP, I have now tested both possible solutions (docking station + capture card + capture viewer; docking station + external monitor) and they both work well. Today's testing was done at work, and I think the video quality issue I had previously was due to me not reading the (very limited) instructions on how to set the mode of the capture viewer software, Capture View 4K.
The remaining issues are the shared clipboard feature, and the drag/drop file transfer software. For file transfer, I'll either switch to a USB cable, or use the FTP server app on my phone. The shared clipboard will go away; I don't consider that a major problem but it will cause the occasional headache.
Come on, Samsung, get with the program, and don't take Dex for Windows away from us.
