Hello everyone. This topic is about the concept of using your smartphone as your PC, and the convergence of all personal computing into a single device that does everything. By using the desktop mode of my own smartphone (which I discovered by accident), and observing the true multitasking capabilities it has, I have discovered that these handy little pocket computers are much more powerful than most people are likely aware. Cubasis and other ‘super apps’ have played a large part in this discovery.
I have been a drummer since I was two years old, and I have used Cubase on many occasions. I first used Cubasis in 2021 on my Android phone and I’m amazed at what it can do. However, when I discovered what my phone can really do with desktop mode, it totally blew the doors off my expectations. In my opinion, all phones should have this functionality, because they are technically capable of it. Although this concept is not ready for the mainstream yet, largely due to suboptimal software support, it can already satisfy many use cases, including my own. Also, a number of people believe that smartphones (and tablets) will be the future of personal computing, and I am inclined to agree in light of my discoveries. Therefore, I think this concept is worthy of discussion in all branches of personal computing, hence this topic.
Everyone please feel free to ask questions and share your thoughts, ideas, approbations, reservations, and/or objections regarding this concept. As one who has extensively tested this idea and is in a position to educate others about it, I will strive to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
To get the ball rolling, here are some pictures of my own personal smartphone-based workstation, with captions underneath:
.
.
The smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S10) continues to function normally while desktop mode (DeX/Desktop Experience) is running. The phone screen effectively functions as a second display, and the mouse pointer can move freely between both screens. The phone can also become a touchscreen laptop and tablet with a folding lapdock like the NexDock Touch. I will elaborate on the individual components of my setup further down.
.
.
Cubasis functions surprisingly well as a desktop DAW, with only a few small quirks. As you can see, the interface can resize itself for phone screens and monitors very well. Also, it is already possible to create a decent setup. The old Yamaha PSR-270 keyboard on top is outputting its own internal sounds to the audio interface in analog stereo. The much newer M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 on the bottom is functioning as a USB MIDI trigger for Cubasis’ built-in VST instruments, as well as triggering the internal sounds in the Yamaha above it. Also notice the M-Audio BX5-D3 studio reference monitors, which get their line-level signal from the audio interface.
.
.
This image reveals some of the true computing power of smartphones and tablets. I say ‘some’ for two reasons:
- My Galaxy S10 is now four years old, so of course the latest devices are much more powerful.
- I’ve pushed it substantially harder than what this photo shows. I’ve played a console-quality racing game at the same time as most of these apps with virtually no issues, not even any overheating (more on cooling below).
Notice that Cubasis, the video editor (KineMaster, bottom left on monitor), and the YouTube video (top of phone screen) are actually playing back at the same time, and yes, I really played the racing game while all of that was happening. I knew phones were powerful, but I had no idea they were this powerful. I was able to get this level of performance by turning on ‘enhanced processing’ and ‘experimental game performance’ in the system settings. The top left app on the monitor is a pro painting & drawing app (Krita), and the top right is a pro 3D sculpting app (Nomad Sculpt). Now for the cooling:
.
.
The cooling system of my S10. is a large evaporative copper heat pipe. Even more expensive phones have a superior vapour chamber cooling system. At any rate, these phones are really built to take the heat! With cooling systems like this, the processor can sustain high performance almost indefinitely, as has been my experience. In my heaviest test, the highest CPU or GPU temperature I saw was 82°C (more on that below), which is getting pretty hot, but that brings us to the next photo:
.
.
This is a thermoelectric phone cooler, also known as a Peltier cooler. It contains no liquids or moving parts except a fan, and it only requires electricity to get cold. On its own, it can reach -15°C, and I’ve seen it easily lower the CPU and GPU temperatures by as much as 20°C, depending on workload (more on that below). This is despite the fact that the phone’s outer shell design is far from ideal. The back is made of glass which is a very poor heat conductor, and it is also slightly curved, preventing the cooler from making flush contact. Nevertheless, the cooler still has a substantial effect. If the phone’s back was perfectly flat and made of aluminum, the cooler could potentially allow for safe overclocking.
.
.
This is an advanced system monitor called DevInfo. This is how I keep track of how cool the phone is running, and how much or little it is throttling (it hardly throttles at all with the enhanced settings turned on). The battery isn’t charging because I’ve limited it to 85% in system settings to protect it. Gaming phones have bypass charging/charge separation, which totally protects the battery. All phones should have this.
.
.
Here are the individual components of my setup:
This is a USB-C docking station/hub which connects everything together. It’s actually meant for ultrabooks, but it also works with many phones and tablets. The host device port is on one side, and two SD card slots are on the other side.
.
.
This is a 100 watt USB-C Power Delivery charger which powers the hub and all USB devices connected to it, including the Oxygen Pro 61.
.
.
This is a class-compliant audio interface compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. It connects to the hub with USB-C, although it can also use USB Type A and Lightning. It has balanced 1/4" output jacks for the speakers, a pair of 1/4"-XLR combo inputs with excellent pre-amps and 48-volt phantom power, a headphone jack with direct monitoring, and MIDI in and out.
.
.
This is a 1TB portable SSD. Internally it uses NVMe and PCI Express, and it connects to the hub with USB 3.1 Type A, although it actually supports USB 3.2. Needless to say it is very fast.
.
.
That concludes the introduction. Does anyone have any thoughts?
