I recently bought a Steam Deck and I have a lapdock on the way, intending to use the Deck as a dual-purpose gaming handheld and laptop replacement. So on that front, I was wondering what more experienced users could tell me about using it.
I did read through the official FAQ, and a few questions pop up. In no particular order:
- Is there a way to boot the Steam Deck directly into desktop mode, without going through the Steam environment first? (Strictly as a time saver)
- In practice, how well does
sudo steamos-readonly disableand installing things from pacman work out for you? In particular, I want to use PWAs For Firefox and it requires this package in order to work. Do packages actually get wiped with SteamOS updates, as the FAQ warns? - Is it possible to re-enable the read-only filesystem after installing a package, to safeguard it from accidental changes?
- Any other tips, tricks or warnings you’d like to share.
Oh, so it’s like a portable monitor with a keyboard attached to it? I had no idea these were a thing.
Precisely! I like to describe it as: a portable external monitor, in the shape of a laptop, with a built-in keyboard and trackpad.
Many Android phones support a desktop mode when connected to an external monitor. Most notably Samsung’s higher-end phones, and they call this feature Samsung DeX. Lapdocks are perfect to make use of this functionality.
NexDock is a more reputable brand that makes high-quality lapdocks. Uperfect is another, but I get the feeling they don’t care as much about making good usable products, and instead just want to maximize their specs for marketability.
ELECROW, I never heard of before and it looks like chinesium, but it’s the only lapdock I found that actually ships to me so that’s what I ordered. Should arrive in a couple of weeks.
I wanted to get a Linux phone and a lapdock. Would give me one device that I could keep personal stuff on, but turn into a full workstation when needed. (But Linux phones are still very much a work in progress)