4 issues you possibly can plug into your Android telephone’s USB port (that are not chargers)

As a platform, Android’s key power is arguably flexibility. The software program on one machine 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 — every part from the most affordable potential finances telephones to foldables that value 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 variety of flexibility in what customers can join, and — the truth is — you are not taking full benefit of your telephone if you have not tried to plug in something extra subtle than a charger. Not that it is required — it is simply that your telephone can deal with much more than you would possibly understand, typically changing a laptop computer in a pinch. I will really begin with that one as a style of the chances.

Displays and lapdocks

Work from virtually wherever

One thing that fries my mind in a small method is that for a few years now, Samsung’s Android telephones have supplied DeX, a function that initiatives a Home windows-style desktop interface once you’re related to a monitor or TV. It will possibly’t go toe-to-toe with Home windows 11, but when you’ll want to get some writing, spreadsheets, or displays finished, it may be a lifesaver. I do know I would not try and churn out an article if I needed to cram all my writing and analysis onto a six-inch telephone display screen.

What’s good is that Google lastly determined to bake this into Android 16 through Desktop Mode. In case your telephone is suitable, the mode switches right into a tablet-style interface with assist for a number of app home windows and a taskbar. Any current flagship telephone, corresponding to a Pixel 9 or 10, ought to be capable to run a number of apps without delay, together with video games.

There are a couple of catches right here. You could want a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter for some shows, and in a desktop surroundings, you may most likely wish to route every part by a USB-C hub for the sake of connecting a mouse, keyboard, and energy provide. An alternative choice to it is a lapdock, which will get you a display screen, keyboard, and trackpad in a single shot. Consider it as a laptop computer the place your telephone gives the processing.

Notice that if you do not have a hub, you too can join mice and keyboards to your telephone through Bluetooth. Simply do not count on your telephone 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 may rely on an Android telephone having a microSD card slot. Some comfort, nevertheless, is you can join nearly any exterior SSD (solid-state drive) or card reader to an Android telephone, providing a method of transferring images, movies, music, and different recordsdata to and out of your telephone’s inner storage. In truth, if you happen to’ve acquired an motion cam or knowledgeable digicam, you might be able to switch content material immediately.

Do take note of the USB speeds of your telephone, cable, and something you join, nevertheless. Whereas some telephones and equipment could also be able to information transfers as much as 10Gbps or increased, you may extra doubtless be working 5Gbps. That is nonetheless quick, however could possibly 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 might take 40 seconds at 10Gbps will stretch out to just about 14 minutes. You will most likely need an improve if you happen to’re utilizing your telephone for skilled work, and even if you happen to’re simply offloading PEV group ride footage regularly. USB 2.0 dates again to the 12 months 2000 — nobody ought to be together with it on fashionable {hardware}. I am taking a look at you, Apple.

Sport controllers

Who wants a console?

Credit score: Pocket-lint / Spine

Though you possibly can at all times pair a Bluetooth controller along with your telephone, a USB-C based mostly “vice” controller just like the Spine One or Razer Kishi V3 is normally preferable for a couple of causes. The obvious one is comfort — you need not prop your telephone up someplace, and you may at all times decide up your complete setup and go, a lot as if you happen to have been taking part in on a Switch 2 or Steam Deck. You could want to make use of passthrough charging to keep away from draining your telephone 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 change between gadgets is clamp within the new one, so long as it suits the controller’s most dimensions. You could even be capable to play Home windows video games utilizing your controller so long as you’ve got acquired a spare USB cable.

Some type of devoted controller is basically necessary if you happen to care about gaming. Whilst you would possibly be capable 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 basic recreation emulator, most of the titles you may be taking part in have been by no means designed with touchscreens in thoughts.

An workplace or front room TV

No media streamer needed

Google discontinued all of its Chromecast dongles in August 2024, which is a disgrace — they have been a extremely moveable method of bringing your favourite media streaming apps to any TV. You’d plug one into an HDMI port and growth, Google TV simply the way in which you prefer it. If you happen to did not wish to use the bundled distant, you may venture absolutely anything onto a TV utilizing Google Solid. The Chromecast has since been changed by the Google TV Streamer, however that is not almost as straightforward to stuff in a bag or pocket.

If all you might have is your telephone, many TVs now have Google Solid built-in, and you might also be capable to use Samsung DeX or Android 16’s Desktop Mode, as I discussed firstly. When none of this stuff are an choice, although, a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter ought to allow you to immediately mirror your telephone’s display screen, which can be ok if you happen to’re making an attempt to host a presentation at work, or watch a film at dwelling. As a bonus, this can allow you to play media that might 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 telephone and adapter, and the enter specs of the HDMI port you are plugging into. For a clean expertise, all three of those ought to assist 4K decision at a 60Hz refresh fee or increased. 30Hz is practical, however will not be capable 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 telephone and TV would be the limiting elements, particularly since few video games run a lot quicker than 60fps.