Once you've got Android Desktop Mode running on your Pixel 10 - covered in our Desktop Mode explainer and setup guide - the next question is what to actually do with it. A taskbar and resizable windows are only useful if the apps you rely on behave well inside them, and the right accessories can make the difference between a fun demo and a setup you reach for every day.
This guide covers both: the apps that genuinely feel like desktop software once they're in a window, and the accessories that make extended Desktop Mode sessions comfortable.
Apps That Feel Right at Home in Desktop Mode
Some Android apps were built with resizable windows in mind, and it shows the moment you drag their corner to resize them. A few stand out:
- Chrome is the workhorse of any Desktop Mode session. Because so many productivity tools - Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Notion, Trello, Canva - run as web apps, a full-size Chrome window covers a huge amount of ground on its own.
- Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets reflow cleanly at almost any window size, with toolbars and sidebars that adapt rather than just stretching.
- Slack switches to its familiar three-column desktop layout once its window is wide enough, instead of the collapsed mobile view.
- Files by Google becomes genuinely useful in a window, letting you drag files between folders the way you would in a file manager on a laptop.
- Microsoft Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) pick up ribbon-style toolbars when given enough width, closely mirroring their desktop counterparts.
The common thread is that apps built with Google's adaptive layout guidelines tend to scale their UI based on available space, rather than just zooming in a phone layout. The more of these you rely on day to day, the more "desktop-like" your Desktop Mode session will feel - and it's worth spending ten minutes opening your most-used apps in a window just to see which category they fall into before you build a workflow around them.
A Few More Apps Worth Pinning to Your Taskbar
Beyond the obvious productivity suite, a handful of other apps earn a permanent spot on the Desktop Mode taskbar once you're using it regularly:
- Spotify runs comfortably in a small window in the corner of the screen, making it an easy way to keep music or a podcast going without it taking over your workspace.
- Notion and Todoist work well as docked side windows for task lists and notes, sitting alongside whatever you're actively working on rather than requiring a separate tab.
- WhatsApp Web and Telegram (or their dedicated apps, where available) behave like proper desktop messaging clients once given a wider window, with message lists and conversation panes side by side.
- Google Keep is a lightweight option for quick notes that you want visible without switching away from your main task - useful for jotting down to-dos during a call.
None of these are essential, but together they're what start to make a Desktop Mode session feel like an actual desktop rather than a phone screen stretched across a monitor.
Apps That Still Feel Like a Phone
Not every app has caught up yet. Plenty of apps - especially smaller third-party ones - simply stretch their phone layout to fill the window, leaving you with oversized buttons and awkward empty space. Some apps also refuse to run in anything other than a fixed portrait window, regardless of how much screen space is available, and a few will minimize themselves unexpectedly when you switch focus to another window.
This isn't a dealbreaker, but it's worth knowing going in: your most-used apps are the ones worth testing first. If a core app you depend on still behaves like a phone app in a window, that's a sign Desktop Mode may work better as a secondary setup for now rather than your primary workspace for that task. App developers are actively updating their apps for desktop windowing, so it's worth periodically re-testing apps that didn't work well a few months ago.
Window Management Tips Worth Knowing
A few small habits make multitasking in Desktop Mode noticeably smoother: snapping windows to either half of the screen for side-by-side work, using the taskbar to pin the handful of apps you use constantly, and resizing a window once rather than repeatedly nudging its edges. MakeUseOf put together a short list of tweaks that make Desktop Mode noticeably more usable, and most of them take under a minute to set up.
Dragging a window to the left or right edge of the screen snaps it to fill exactly half the display, which is the fastest way to set up a side-by-side layout for, say, a browser and a document. Dragging to the top edge maximizes a window, and a quick drag back down restores its previous size. Once you've arranged a layout you like - browser on the left, Slack and email stacked on the right, for example - it tends to stay that way between sessions, so this is mostly a one-time setup rather than something you'll fuss with every day.
Accessories That Make Multitasking Easier
The apps matter, but so does the hardware around them. A few accessories make a real difference once you're spending real time in Desktop Mode rather than just trying it out, turning a phone propped against a monitor into something closer to an actual desk setup.
A second screen worth looking at
If your Desktop Mode sessions involve a lot of side-by-side windows - email next to a document, a browser next to a spreadsheet - screen size and quality matter more than people expect. The Samsung Smart Monitor M8 gives you enough resolution and screen real estate to comfortably snap two or three app windows side by side, and its sharp panel makes long reading and writing sessions easier on the eyes.
→ Check the Samsung Smart Monitor M8 on Amazon
Headphones for calls and focus
Once your Pixel is doubling as a workstation, it's also handling your calls and meetings. A solid pair of noise-cancelling headphones makes a bigger difference here than most people expect - both for blocking out distractions during focused work and for sounding clear on video calls. The Sony WH-1000XM6 pairs easily over Bluetooth, handles calls well thanks to their multi-mic setup, and are comfortable enough to wear through a multi-hour Desktop Mode session.
→ Check the Sony WH-1000XM6 on Amazon
A mouse that keeps up with your workflow
Window management - dragging, resizing, snapping - is a lot more pleasant with a precise mouse than with a budget one that skips or lags. The Logitech MX Master 3S is built for exactly this kind of work, with smooth tracking and the ability to switch between your Pixel and another paired computer without re-pairing.
→ Check the Logitech MX Master 3S on Amazon
Power that doesn't run out mid-session
Running Chrome, Slack, Docs, and a video call simultaneously in Desktop Mode is a heavier workload than typical phone use, and it shows in battery drain. Keeping a compact charger like the Anker 65W GaN Charger plugged in at your desk means you can leave Desktop Mode running for hours without worrying about your phone dying mid-task.
→ Check the Anker 65W GaN Charger on Amazon
Building This Into a Daily Workflow
The apps and accessories above are really about answering one question: can this realistically replace part of your laptop routine, or is it better suited to occasional use? For lightweight tasks - email, docs, browsing, calls - the combination of the right apps and a comfortable accessory setup gets you most of the way to a "real" desktop experience.
Whether it goes further than that depends on the kind of work you do. We dig into this in detail in our article on whether the Pixel 10 can actually replace your laptop, including where it holds up surprisingly well and where it still falls short.
Final Thoughts
Desktop Mode's hardware story is mostly solved - plug in a compatible cable or dock and you get a taskbar and windows. The software and accessory side is where the experience really gets shaped: apps built for adaptive layouts feel genuinely useful in a window, while older or smaller apps remind you you're still on a phone. Pair the right apps with a decent monitor, headphones, mouse, and charger, and Desktop Mode starts to feel less like a novelty and more like a second computer that happens to live in your pocket.
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External references: MakeUseOf - Pixel Desktop Mode tweaks · Android Police - Android 16's Desktop Mode
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