4 issues you may plug into your Android cellphone’s USB port (that are not chargers)

As a platform, Android’s key power is arguably flexibility. The software program on one gadget can look radically completely different from one other, even when there is a core underlying interface. There’s typically extra leeway in what Android apps can do than ones on an iPhone, and there is additionally a wider vary of {hardware} specs — all the things from the most affordable potential funds telephones to foldables that price as a lot as a gaming PC.

Android additionally adopted USB-C a few years earlier than Apple did. That has given the platform a whole lot of flexibility in what customers can join, and — in reality — you are not taking full benefit of your cellphone if you have not tried to plug in something extra subtle than a charger. Not that it is required — it is simply that your cellphone can deal with much more than you may understand, typically changing a laptop computer in a pinch. I will really begin with that one as a style of the probabilities.

Displays and lapdocks

Work from virtually wherever

One thing that fries my mind in a small manner is that for a few years now, Samsung’s Android telephones have provided DeX, a characteristic that tasks a Home windows-style desktop interface whenever you’re linked to a monitor or TV. It will probably’t go toe-to-toe with Home windows 11, but when you’ll want to get some writing, spreadsheets, or shows achieved, it may be a lifesaver. I do know I would not try to churn out an article if I needed to cram all my writing and analysis onto a six-inch cellphone display.

What’s good is that Google lastly determined to bake this into Android 16 by way of Desktop Mode. In case your cellphone is appropriate, the mode switches right into a tablet-style interface with help for a number of app home windows and a taskbar. Any current flagship cellphone, similar to a Pixel 9 or 10, ought to have the ability to run a number of apps without delay, together with video games.

There are a number of catches right here. You could want a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter for some shows, and in a desktop surroundings, you will in all probability need to route all the things by a USB-C hub for the sake of connecting a mouse, keyboard, and energy provide. An alternative choice to this can be a lapdock, which will get you a display, keyboard, and trackpad in a single shot. Consider it as a laptop computer the place your cellphone offers the processing.

Be aware that if you do not have a hub, you can too join mice and keyboards to your cellphone by way of Bluetooth. Simply do not anticipate your cellphone to final lengthy in DeX or Desktop Mode if it would not have a way of charging concurrently.

Exterior SSDs and card readers

Prepared to dump (and onload)

Gone are the times when you possibly can depend on an Android cellphone having a microSD card slot. Some comfort, nonetheless, is you can join nearly any exterior SSD (solid-state drive) or card reader to an Android cellphone, providing a manner of transferring photographs, movies, music, and different information to and out of your cellphone’s inner storage. In truth, for those who’ve received an motion cam or knowledgeable digital camera, you could possibly switch content material instantly.

Do take note of the USB speeds of your cellphone, cable, and something you join, nonetheless. Whereas some telephones and equipment could also be able to knowledge transfers as much as 10Gbps or larger, you will extra doubtless be working 5Gbps. That is nonetheless quick, however might be inconvenient if you’ll want to switch dozens of gigabytes of 4K footage.

Watch out for something limiting you to USB 2.0 speeds, which peak at simply 480Mbps. That sounds fast relative to your web connection — however a 50GB switch that will take 40 seconds at 10Gbps will stretch out to just about 14 minutes. You will in all probability need an improve for those who’re utilizing your cellphone for skilled work, and even for those who’re simply offloading PEV group ride footage frequently. USB 2.0 dates again to the 12 months 2000 — nobody ought to be together with it on fashionable {hardware}. I am you, Apple.

Recreation controllers

Who wants a console?

Credit score: Pocket-lint / Spine

Though you may at all times pair a Bluetooth controller together with your cellphone, a USB-C based mostly “vice” controller just like the Spine One or Razer Kishi V3 is normally preferable for a number of causes. The obvious one is comfort — you need not prop your cellphone up someplace, and you’ll at all times choose up your complete setup and go, a lot as for those who have been enjoying on a Switch 2 or Steam Deck. You could want to make use of passthrough charging to keep away from draining your cellphone in a rush, however some extra superior fashions sport their very own batteries.

Different perks embody the bottom potential enter latency, and my favourite watchword for this text, flexibility. All you’ll want to do to modify between gadgets is clamp within the new one, so long as it suits the controller’s most dimensions. You could even have the ability to play Home windows video games utilizing your controller so long as you’ve got received a spare USB cable.

Some form of devoted controller is actually necessary for those who care about gaming. When you may have the ability to play one thing like Civilization VI with contact gestures alone, platformers like Blasphemous and shooters like Fortnite are going to be depressing with out D-pads or analog sticks. If you wish to run a traditional recreation emulator, most of the titles you will be enjoying have been by no means designed with touchscreens in thoughts.

An workplace or front room TV

No media streamer obligatory

Google discontinued all of its Chromecast dongles in August 2024, which is a disgrace — they have been a extremely transportable manner of bringing your favourite media streaming apps to any TV. You’d plug one into an HDMI port and increase, Google TV simply the way in which you prefer it. In the event you did not need to use the bundled distant, you possibly can mission absolutely anything onto a TV utilizing Google Forged. The Chromecast has since been changed by the Google TV Streamer, however that is not practically as simple to stuff in a bag or pocket.

If all you’ve gotten is your cellphone, many TVs now have Google Forged built-in, and you may additionally have the ability to use Samsung DeX or Android 16’s Desktop Mode, as I discussed at first. When none of these items are an possibility, although, a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter ought to allow you to instantly mirror your cellphone’s display, which can be ok for those who’re attempting to host a presentation at work, or watch a film at house. As a bonus, it will allow you to play media that will in any other case play badly over a wi-fi connection or solely be accessible on-device. For a gaming setup, this and a Bluetooth controller could also be all you want.

Take note of the output specs of your cellphone and adapter, and the enter specs of the HDMI port you are plugging into. For a easy expertise, all three of those ought to help 4K decision at a 60Hz refresh fee or larger. 30Hz is practical, however will not have the ability to sustain with graphics working past 30 frames per second. Some adapters are already able to 4K at 144Hz. At that degree, it is extra doubtless that your cellphone and TV would be the limiting components, particularly since few video games run a lot sooner than 60fps.