Turn Your Samsung Phone Into A Laptop

[VueeyLe]

As the title implies - I have decided to give this idea a try and I am more than happy to report about my pleasant!

The device I ended up going with is the UPerfect LapDock. What this device is a very thin and light laptop without any internal hardware. All of the processing is done on your phone in other words, if you need a faster processor - just upgrade your phone!

Although I have to be clear that this will only work with Samsung devices with Samsung DEX built in. 

MY THOUGHT:

• Pros:

The UPerfect Laptop works really well. The Keyboard is surprisingly a joy to type on - a little bit mushy by today's standard, but it reminds me of the old Apple MacBook Pro keyboards from the past. 

The internal 10,000 mah battery keeps this device going nicely. I've experienced roughly 7hrs of battery life using this with my phone with brightness at MAX. If you want to keep your phone charged as well, this will drop the battery life down to about 5 hrs at 100% brightness. Lucky this device does take USB-C and doesn't need that much power to top up the LapDock & Mobile Device connected to it. 

The screen is fantastic! Nice accurate colours for some basic photo editing and perfect for day to day use.

If you're after an all in one device, this works as a tablet as well! Just flip it over into Tent or Tablet mode and off you go (Yes it support touch). Thanks to Samsung DEX, you can use most of your applications in Windowed Mode and you can freely multi-task using the UPerfect LapDock.

To my surprise, the LapDock also supports Micro SD - so you can leave a SD Card plugged in and store files on it. I am using a 512GB SD Card and I back up Photos and Videos onto it during my photoshoots. 

Lastly, this device takes HDMI In via the Mini HDMI Port - perfect for those who have a Nintendo Switch or in need of a large second monitor for their setup. Last, this LapDock brings back the Headphone jack - YIPPIE! 

The weight of the unit is roughly 1.1KG and very thin - just a bit thicker than Samsung's S-Pen for the Fold 3.

• CONS:

There's many things done right, but some features on this product that needs improving.

• Speakers:
  Speakers on the LapDock is terrible... They sound like $5 speakers you get from the a KnickKnack store and to be honest - my speakers the Samsung Z Fold 3 sounds better. I would avoid using the speakers at all cost.
  

• Trackpad:

The Trackpad is mix bags of emotions for me at the moment. It is large and nice to use when scrolling and moving my cursor around. But it seems like there's no Palm Rejection built in. I assume this is because Palm Rejection is generally done via OS on the Phone / Computer - so maybe Samsung can implement some sort of Palm Rejection when typing? At this point, when I type - I make sure I lift my palm slightly up when typing or disable the trackpad. It's a bit of a learning curve, but not the end of the world. 

VERDICT

Honestly the UPerfect LapDock is actually a great device and I highly recommend it to those who are looking to use their Smartphone as their travel work computer. 

My experience with the UPerfect LapDock is getting better with each update from Samsung and you can definitely do a lot with it.

At this point, I have left my Razer Blade 14 at home for most of my commutes unless I am at a job that requires a lot of horsepower. 

At this point, I hope Samsung does make a LapDock style device for their Smartphones. Since the UPerfect LapDock is a third-party device, there will be limitations. BUT if Samsung decides to make a device in-house, I am sure they can make some magic happen. 

Here's some more photos of my Samsung Z Fold 3 & UPerfect LapDock:

[SamsungLaura]

Thanks for the review @VueeyLe! 

[VueeyLe]

I hope you found it interesting! I truly hope Samsung makes a dedicated DEX laptop shell for their phones 😁

[mattwellerphoto]

A well written article. You know DEX is actually quite amazing and you can use it with modern Virtual Desktops such as Citrix XenDesktop or AWS WorkSpaces. Definately beats having to carry around a laptop in order to do your work. One of the biggest pro's is having a really good front facing webcam which is present on all samsung smartphones, it is a significant upgrade over a laptop camera so totally perfect for professionals who need to do Zoom meetings.

[Jodsta]

Great review @VueeyLe

[peglegreg]

G'day, I assuming that, instead of using the track pad, could you use a Logitech mouse instead?
I love my Logitech Ergo.
Thanks for a fabulous article. 👌
Greg 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍