4 issues you’ll be able to plug into your Android telephone’s USB port (that are not chargers)

As a platform, Android’s key energy is arguably flexibility. The software program on one system can look radically completely different from one other, even when there is a core underlying interface. There’s usually 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 attainable price range 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 quite a lot of flexibility in what customers can join, and — in truth — 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, generally changing a laptop computer in a pinch. I am going to really begin with that one as a style of the probabilities.

Screens and lapdocks

Work from nearly wherever

One thing that fries my mind in a small method is that for a few years now, Samsung’s Android telephones have provided DeX, a function that tasks a Home windows-style desktop interface while you’re linked to a monitor or TV. It may’t go toe-to-toe with Home windows 11, but when you have to get some writing, spreadsheets, or shows completed, 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.

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, akin to a Pixel 9 or 10, ought to be capable of run a number of apps without delay, together with video games.

There are just a few catches right here. It’s possible you’ll want a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter for some shows, and in a desktop setting, you will most likely need 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, keyboard, and trackpad in a single shot. Consider it as a laptop computer the place your telephone supplies 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 anticipate your telephone to final lengthy in DeX or Desktop Mode if it does not have a way of charging concurrently.

Exterior SSDs and card readers

Prepared to dump (and onload)

Gone are the times when you can depend on an Android telephone having a microSD card slot. Some comfort, nevertheless, is which you could 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 actual fact, for those who’ve acquired an motion cam or an expert 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 will extra seemingly be working 5Gbps. That is nonetheless quick, however may very well be inconvenient if you have 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 may take 40 seconds at 10Gbps will stretch out to almost 14 minutes. You may most likely need an improve for those who’re utilizing your telephone for skilled work, and even for those who’re simply offloading PEV group ride footage frequently. USB 2.0 dates again to the yr 2000 — nobody needs 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’ll be able to 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 just a few causes. The obvious one is comfort — you needn’t prop your telephone up someplace, and you’ll at all times decide up your total setup and go, a lot as for those who had been enjoying on a Switch 2 or Steam Deck. It’s possible you’ll 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 attainable enter latency, and my favourite watchword for this text, flexibility. All you have to do to modify between units is clamp within the new one, so long as it matches the controller’s most dimensions. It’s possible you’ll even be capable of play Home windows video games utilizing your controller so long as you have acquired a spare USB cable.

Some form of devoted controller is basically obligatory for those who care about gaming. When you would possibly be capable of 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 sport emulator, lots of the titles you will be enjoying had been by no means designed with touchscreens in thoughts.

An workplace or front room TV

No media streamer mandatory

Google discontinued all of its Chromecast dongles in August 2024, which is a disgrace — they had been a extremely moveable method of bringing your favourite media streaming apps to any TV. You’d plug one into an HDMI port and increase, Google TV simply the best way you prefer it. Should you did not need to use the bundled distant, you can venture absolutely anything onto a TV utilizing Google Solid. 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 got is your telephone, many TVs now have Google Solid built-in, and you may additionally be capable of use Samsung DeX or Android 16’s Desktop Mode, as I discussed in the beginning. When none of these items are an choice, although, a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter ought to allow you to immediately mirror your telephone’s display, which can be ok for those who’re making an attempt to host a presentation at work, or watch a film at dwelling. As a bonus, it will allow you to play media that may 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 price or increased. 30Hz is useful, however will not be capable of sustain with graphics working past 30 frames per second. Some adapters are already able to 4K at 144Hz. At that degree, it is extra seemingly that your telephone and TV would be the limiting elements, particularly since few video games run a lot quicker than 60fps.