Comment by BLKNSLVR
5 months ago
Does this support connection to a docking station so it can be used like a desktop?
If so, I'm very interested.
Edited to add: some reviews say it supports mouse and keyboard via dock, The Register says it didn't support an external USB-C display (that was from March this year, so the earlier version), but then another review said that used it as an Ethernet router, so Ethernet via dock must work.
I am the Register reviewer.
I tested with 2 different USB-C docks and a USB-C to HDMI monitor cable. They're the only ones I have.
One is from a Gemini PDA and has USB-A, USB-C and Ethernet. I think I did not test Ethernet but I can do that. The dock contains an Ethernet controller: it's a USB-attached Ethernet card, effectively. It works on Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, etc.
As far as I recall the FLX1 detected the Ethernet port but I didn't test it.
The other dock has audio, various sizes of USB, and HDMI out. All the ports worked except display. You can drive the phone with a full sized keyboard and mouse, which is amusing but useless. You can power the phone from the dock while in use.
But it can't drive a display, which is a damned shame and a deal-breaker for the form-factor. Otherwise this could be a real PC in your pocket.
The company told me it was working on wireless display support but I do not own any wireless displays to test with.
Thank you for clarifying, and thanks for your contributions to The Register!
It's most definitely a shame that it doesn't support an external display via the dock (which kinda makes moot the fact it supports other peripherals), I've used two different docks (both requiring DisplayLink drivers) with my home Linux setup and every kernel update is a crapshoot as to whether the dock-connected displays will blink back into life post reboot, or stubbornly stay blank until I roll back to the previous kernel version and await the drivers to catch up.
As such, I kinda understand that it may be harder than expected to get working for a device like this.
Having recently setup a new GrapheneOS device, however, it means I'm less motived to change mobile platforms again. Desktop-via-dock support could have convinced me.
> thanks for your contributions to The Register!
Oh, thanks for saying so. :-)
> a shame that it doesn't support an external display via the dock
100% agreed. I have not seen any firm info if this new model can do it. The OEM hardware seems to be a relatively generic midrange big-and-robust Android device and so it's not something they prioritised. The manufacturer wasn't to know that a couple of years later, it'd prove to be a bit of a deal-breaker.
> makes moot the fact it supports other peripherals
Agreed again.
I mean, if it didn't run Wayland, you could run an X11 desktop over TCP/IP quite happily... :-D
It does mot support display output via USB C, and I'm guessing Ethernet will also be very limited because the usb is 2.0, which is very sad to see on a Linux phone.