Jide’s Remix Singularity isn’t the only project to turn Android phones into desktop computers. French company Auxens recently released an preview version of a new Android-based operating system called OXI.
Here’s the idea: OXI lets you use your smartphone or tablet like a normal mobile device, with all apps running in full-screen windows. Or you can enable a multi-window mode that makes Android look and feel more like a desktop OS.
But the coolest feature? You can cast the multi-window environment to an external display while staying in full-screen mode on your mobile device. This lets you keep using your phone as a phone… while also using your phone to power a desktop-like experience on a second screen. It’s like Microsoft’s Continuum for phone… except for Android.
Auxens recently released alpha versions of OXI for a handful of devices including the OnePlus 3, Google Nexus 5X, Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE Advance, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
The software is based on CyanogenMod 13, but now that the open source CyanogenMod project is dead, the developers are working to update it to LineageOS 14.1
Auxens is also partnering with Chinese phone maker Vernee, and Charbax caught up with the companies at Mobile World Congress, where he shot a lengthy video showing the software in action.
[embedded content]The phone can connect to an external display via Miracast wireless display technology or a USB connector with a DisplayLink/HDMI /USB connector.
It’s still very much a work in progress, and Auxens says the operating system works best on 1080p displays, currently only supports running a single instance of any app, and cannot resize some apps properly.
But it’s still a promising look at technology that could help make your Android phone the only computing device you need to carry around… at least sometimes.
