We got the Samsung Galaxy Note 9's DeX to work with an HP Elite X3 Lapdock

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

As I've been testing the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, it occurred to me to try the DeX (Desktop Experience) feature which creates a PC-like interface when plugged into an HDMI-enabled monitor. Instead of plugging-it into a desktop monitor, I dusted off my HP Elite X3 Lapdock accessory which was designed for use with Microsoft's Windows 10 Continuum.

The Elite X3 dock is a premium accessory, it is powered by USB Type-C and connects to Windows Phones using USB Type-C as well as wirelessly. I used it briefly with my Elite X3 Windows Phone, mostly for Office 365 access.

To my surprise, plugging in the Galaxy Note 9 doesn't only enable DeX on the Elite X3 Lapdock, it gives automatic access to the keyboard and mouse. DeX runs quite well on this Lapdock with most apps being accessible (although not all of them can go on full screen mode). Accessing Office 365 apps, Chrome and Samsung browsers as well as other Google-native Android apps, shows that they scale nicely on the lapdock.

To test how other non-Windows smartphones work with the lapdock I plugged in a Galaxy S9+ which simply projected the phone's display on to the screen and game me access to the keyboard and trackpad.

I also plugged in my Google Pixel 2 but nothing appeared on the display, I was able to use the keyboard and the mouse of the Lapdock, but the experience was far from ideal. I'll post more observations here as I continue to test the Note 9 with the HP Elite X3 Premium lapdock for DeX use.

Note: There's a lot to consider here and while the HP Elite accessory lapdock seems to get along with the DeX functionality on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, no way are we suggesting that this is a guarantted solution. That said, the now discontinued HP Lapdock can be bought for under US $200, for those already spending major coin for the Note 9, this solution/workaround makes DeX a more portable function.