Samsung DeX Is Going Into Chicago Police Cars

While it has become more common these days to connect smartphones to cars, the idea of putting your entire computer on the dashboard is still alien, almost laughable. Yet that is exactly the idea that Samsung is selling with its DeX In Vehicle program which, naturally, puts a Samsung Galaxy at the center of the action. It won't be in regular vehicles, though, as Samsung is focusing on putting the power of Android and an Android desktop in the cars of Chicago's Police Department.

Running Samsung DeX is probably going to be the last use case you'll imagine for a desktop-like Android experience but Samsung and Chicago PD do try to make a convincing use case. It all boils down to using the department-issued Samsung Galaxy phone for all the computing needs that old in-vehicle computers once performed. It also perhaps makes it easier to test something that could eventually make it to consumer vehicles in the distant future.

Police cars are often equipped with computers that connect to the Internet or remote servers to allow officers to immediately search for information like background checks and reports. Such computers are old and bulky and increase the risk of data being stored on yet another device. Since these officers already have Galaxy phones, why not just equip the cars with screen and keyboards that the phones can connect to.

It's not just in-vehicle, though. DeX stations can also be set up in key points, like the police station or other terminals. It practically lets police carry their computer with them all the time. Given their locked-down nature, they don't really need access to the regular smartphone apps that most consumers want so limited access isn't an issue.

Samsung has been slowly, very slowly, expanding its DeX platform beyond the initial uncertain use case of Android on the desktop. In addition to this in-vehicle partnership, it has also recently rolled out the ability to use any Windows or Mac computer as a DeX screen. Although not immediately useful for consumers, the DeX In Vehicle program with Chicago Police at least gives the assurance that DeX will be around for a while.