If a smartphone has more steam today than many laptops from a decade ago, why carry separate devices for work, home and travel? The giants have tried to take a step forward here not once, but twice, and now the tiny Nex Computer comes into play with NexPhone – a phone that can not only become a “computer desktop”, but also allows you to switch between Android, Linux and Windows 11.
Since smartphones have “grown” to the level of miniature computers, the question regularly returns to the market: can they replace laptops and desktops? Samsung DeX, Motorola Ready For and Continuum from Microsoft showed that it could be done. But somehow the market didn’t feel it.
Usually, this concept worked, yes, but too often it meant a demo version of the PC world: there were supposedly windows, there was supposedly multitasking, but without the full convenience, without all the applications and predictability straight from any laptop, even the poorest one. Android in desktop mode can be interesting, but it is still Android – an environment that is better suited to short tasks than long work sessions. If users want a desktop, they will get a desktop. NexPhone decided that a problem like this needed to be solved… with abundance.
Android 16, Debian and Windows 11 in one house
On a daily basis, you are supposed to run on Android 16, i.e. in typical mobile mode. But when you need something more “desktop-like”, you can run Debian as an application and enter the Linux environment without restarting the device.
Debian gives you access to full-fledged tools that are simply cumbersome in Android. For many users, this may be the first reasonable bridge between the phone and a real computer.
And then there is Windows 11. Here, NexPhone goes all out: the device is supposed to offer the ability to reboot directly to the Microsoft system. Additionally, the company has prepared its own tile-based interface inspired by Windows 10 Mobile – pure nostalgia. It’s a bit ironic, but also… quite logical. If someone wants Windows in their pocket, they will simply get it. It’s a really nice idea, but the question is how to implement it.
Monitor, keyboard, mouse and… phone
When NexPhone lands on the desk and is paired with the monitor and accessories, the user chooses: Android Desktop Mode, Debian with a full graphical interface or Windows 11 with a classic desktop. Here, the desktop mode is not an overlay at all.
The files were also solved in an interesting way. Android and Debian are supposed to share access to the same data, which makes life easier for users: you download a file in Android and work with it in Linux without juggling copies. Windows is supposed to run on a separate partition: here it was done out of typical pragmatism. Firstly, the file system is difficult to reconcile, and secondly, mixing files between Windows and Linux is usually a mediocre idea in the context of the durability of such installations. This phone should work without errors and without difficulties, and not break down every few weeks.
So: mobility on Android, tools on Debian, compatibility on Windows. Will anyone really be able to use it or will they only talk about it to a very small circle of friends?
NexPhone is a decent average phone
NexPhone’s parameters are a solid mid-range phone. The screen is 6.58 inches, with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a resolution of 1080 × 2403. You get 12 GB RAM, 256 GB memory and – note – a microSD card slot. A nice addition, since it is supposed to be work equipment.
The battery has a capacity of 5000 mAh and supports wireless charging. Cameras: 64 Mpix main, 13 Mpix ultrawide and 10 Mpix at the front. There are no fireworks here and there doesn’t have to be: this is supposed to be equipment for work, not fun.
NexPhone uses the Qualcomm QCM6490 chip – a processor designed mainly for IoT applications. This is not Snapdragon from flagships, but a chip known, among others, from Fairphone 5, where even in his day he could act noticeably sluggishly. The decision makes sense in terms of long support, as Qualcomm has committed to multi-year updates. I have quite justified doubts about the ability to handle the increasingly clumsy and capricious Windows 11.
Read also: This is a brilliant project combining the advantages of Continuum and full mobility! Meet NexDock
$549 for the promise of a computer-phone
Nex is testing the market. First, you pay $199 for the reservation, and finally you pay an additional $350 – a total of $549. The manufacturer declares shipments in the third quarter of the year, and the reservation fee is to be fully refundable.
The price is low enough not to scare away curious people, but high enough so that it doesn’t look like cheap crap. Well: there is some sense in this, but the main deterrent here is the expected performance: especially on Windows. If it was to work, be enjoyable and not irritating, there would have to be something more powerful there. I say/write this with full awareness of this: in my case, I am working on a not very old mobile i7, 32 GB of RAM and a fast NVMe disk, and yet Windows 11 can surprise me with how badly it can handle performance. Imagine this now on your NexPhone. And on top of that… 12 GB of RAM. I don’t buy it.
