Google quietly enabled display output on the Pixel 8 series with the latest beta

It should be noted that using the feature in its basic form, just mirrors your phone's screen as is. Unlike Samsung phones, Pixels lack a robust desktop-like experience on external displays, such as DeX. Android, ironically, has offered a basic desktop mode since version 10, but it primarily serves as a developer tool. This can be enabled, though, by enabling the "force desktop mode" option in Android's developer options.

Google has been working on a more polished user-facing version of desktop mode that many believe may debut with Android 15, though that's unconfirmed. This revamp includes better handling of freeform windows, crucial for a flexible desktop.

Since the company did not include this feature in the changelog for QPR3 Beta 2, it remains uncertain whether this current display output enabling was intentional or if future updates will restrict it. There are theories claiming that Google has intentionally held this feature back from Pixel phones because of its lack of a mature desktop mode. This calls into question why Google would enable it now before its revamped desktop mode is officially revealed.

The Pixel 8's newfound screen mirroring, whether intentional or not, hints at Google's desktop ambitions. The company's silence makes guessing games necessary, but one thing seems clear: stock Android is getting closer to the desktop-like flexibility seen on rivals like Samsung DeX.