In the Mate 10 experience conference co-organized by 01 and Huawei, we put out the screen and wiring to let everyone experience the PC mode of Mate 10/Mate 10 Pro. This function seems to arouse the interest of many people. question. It's better to share the findings of the trial here (after all, this is not a mobile phone that can be tried out in the store).

Although this is to project the content of the mobile phone on the screen, the interface will be rearranged to resemble a computer. For example, the positions of the notification bar, assemblies, shortcuts, etc. are quite similar to those of Windows, and the webpage will also be automatically transferred. computer version.

This is similar to Samsung's DeX, but the Mate 10's PC mode has a few differences:

1. It does not need a base, just wiring.

2. The input method of the mobile phone can be used, and the B32-1320 can also use the mobile phone as a touchpad, so no additional accessories are required, as long as it is wired, it can be used in a hotel on a business trip to connect to a large TV screen.

3. In PC mode, the mobile phone screen will not be forced to close, but it can still be used, and the mobile phone and the big screen can be displayed separately. The big screen shows the computer mode, and the mobile phone shows the original mobile phone interface.

4. Also because the big screen and mobile phone can be displayed separately, so there is no call or privacy notification on the big screen.

Speaking of which, the PC mode of the Mate 10 has a little less of the book.

However, when using it, I also found that whether the app is PC-based and whether it can be displayed on the full screen depends on whether the app itself supports it. For example, many games cannot be played on the full screen in PC mode.

start

To use this mode is very simple, just prepare a screen and a Type-C to HDMI cable.

These kinds of cables are pretty good to buy now, and if you have a new Macbook, those Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) adapter hubs you bought will work as long as they have HDMI ports on them. I tried it with this kind of adapter, and it is recommended to connect it to the Hub, because it can also charge the mobile phone in PC mode at the same time. (But in fact, the charging speed can't keep up with the power consumption speed...Orz)

suspect? Does that require a mouse and keyboard?

It depends on personal needs. If it is only 10 minutes, or checking something or watching a movie, then after connecting the Mate 10 to PC mode, the phone will become a touchpad and keyboard, so it is not necessary to prepare an external one. The device, the mobile phone will become a touchpad, and an external mouse is not required, which is also one of the features emphasized in the PC mode of the Mate 10 version.

If you want to use it for a long time, it is of course more comfortable to operate with a mouse and keyboard.

There is also a need for an external mouse and keyboard, that is, if you connect to the PC mode and also use a mobile phone, you need an external mouse to operate.

(The wireless one is to be prepared here, and the mouse and keyboard are connected to the mobile phone)

In addition to the keyboard and mouse, it may be necessary to connect a Bluetooth speaker or earphone to the mobile phone to have sound~

touchpad, input method

After connecting the cable, pull down the mobile phone notification bar, you can see the menu to switch computer/mobile phone mode, and enable the simulation of keyboard and mouse.

After enabling the analog keyboard and mouse, the screen will become such a touchpad, and you can use the mobile phone touchpad to operate the PC-like screen.

If you need to type, the keyboard of the mobile phone will also surface, the upper half is the mouse, and the lower half is the keyboard. (I put it horizontally on the screen, but it can also be divided vertically up and down).

Here's the answer to a question: in PC mode, you can use any input method you choose in your phone, Google phonetic, voice, Japanese and Korean input methods, your own installed Xixiami... and so on.

Does the touchpad on the phone work?

Moving the cursor is not a big problem, but it is not very sensitive when I want to zoom the window and double-click to select. I have wanted to use a Bluetooth mouse several times, but there is a problem. The keyboard will not appear on the keyboard, so if you want to type, you have to connect to the keyboard.

The logic of trying it so far is: the keyboard and mouse are all virtualized on the mobile phone, or both are connected to the physical one, and the virtual one cannot be used together with the physical one.

PC-based Android phone interface means...

When we tried Samsung's DeX workstation before, we discussed why we should use DeX in our reply. This question can also be asked: Why do we need PC mode?

After starting the PC mode, some preset programs are on the desktop, the apps you downloaded, and the programs you have opened recently are concentrated in the lower left corner.

Power, three keys, connection shortcut keys, notifications, switching input methods... These are on the right half. These designs are very similar to the Windows interface. The so-called PCization means this, allowing you to use the computer to operate the computer. Get used to using the programs on your phone.

But not every third-party app can be displayed in full screen in PC mode, some do and some can't.

For example, you can play Mahjong, but you can't play TsumTsum. In fact, even if you can't play the full screen, there is an advantage. You can open another App next to it and use it for two purposes.

However, the game is very heavy to operate, and it is not ideal to play with the touchpad of the mobile phone. If you really want to play, you can take over the handle, or just play simple point-and-click games. (That's why I chose the mahjong game XD).

The same is true for videos. For example, the built-in player and Google Play movies can be played in full screen. Netflix directly shows that this mode is not supported, and iQiyi does not support full screen playback. (for now)

Large and small screens are available at the same time, maintaining privacy

The PC mode of the Mate 10 is also convenient. Even if the PC mode is connected, the mobile phone can still be used independently. That is to say, the connected big screen can be used with the mobile phone at the same time. LINE.

Also because large and small screens can be used at the same time, if there is an incoming call, text message or notification, or a reply to a letter, it can be processed on the mobile phone, and the screen will not be put on the large screen, which is more privacy.

The advantage of this PC mode is that a Type-C to HDMI cable can be converted, which is convenient and cheap.

If you want to input, you don't need to connect another keyboard, just use the input method you are familiar with in the mobile phone.

In addition, the mobile phone can still work when connected to PC mode, which should be more convenient for users.

The disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of power of the mobile phone. Although it can be recharged through the adapter port, it seems that the charging speed cannot keep up with the electricity consumption, it just slows down the speed of the power injection. Therefore, I think this function is more suitable for short-term use, but it needs to be used for a long time. Coming to work should not be possible.

In addition, although there is no need to bring a keyboard and mouse, the touchpad of the mobile phone is not smooth everywhere, and it is difficult to operate when you need to select and manually enlarge the window, which may be troublesome when processing files.