The Pixel 8/Pro series will become Google’s first phone that can be connected to a wired external display. After updating to the Android 14 QPR3 Beta version system, it can be connected and used without any other operations.
Before the launch of Pixel 8/Pro, tipster Kamila Wojciechowska said that the phone supports USB DisplayPort Alt mode, allowing video output through the USB-C interface.
Android news digger Mishaal Rahman recently discovered that after installing the Android 14 QPR3 Beta update, users can plug a USB-C to USB-C or HDMI video cable into the phone, plug the other end into a compatible monitor, and then the phone will pop up a dialog box , asking if you want to mirror your phone’s screen to an external monitor.
▲ Test pictures posted by Mishaal Rahman on the Android Authority website, the same below
Once you click Connect, everything displayed on your phone will be copied to your monitor or TV. If you want a more desktop-like experience, you can enable developer settings on your phone and toggle the “Force Desktop Mode” option to get a desktop-like OS experience.
Rahman noted that the existing desktop mode is very rudimentary, but Google is apparently working on a more powerful version that is expected to launch with Android 15 this fall and cannot be ruled out as one of the selling points of the Pixel 9 series.
Unfortunately, video output is not available on other Pixel devices, and Google has disabled DisplayPort Alt Mode at the hardware level, with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro being the first phones to offer hardware support.
