Samsung DeX Station w/ USBC Wall Charger

I read a lot of reviews around the web and on Amazon before purchasing. While there were some negative reviews and many positive reviews with some complaints, I have had a pretty positive experience so far. Before using DeX, I had been mirroring my display to the monitor. DeX is so much better than display mirroring (although it does offer display mirroring if you want to do that instead of the DeX desktop--just click the notification from the desktop and it will switch). It's super easy to start it--just stick the phone in the DeX and it starts. I am using an old PC monitor with HDMI input and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. If you have wired peripherals, that is probably best, RF peripherals are probably next, and then Bluetooth. I actually don't have an issue with the Bluetooth keyboard, but there is just a little bit of lag with the Bluetooth mouse. It usually isn't much of an issue--it actually is unrelated to the DeX and is entirely an issue of using Bluetooth mice with Android. There are two USB ports for plugging in wired or RF peripherals. I haven't tried using the USB ports for any other purposes yet. Before I ordered, I wondered whether the power cable uses USB-C or something else. If USB-C, is it the same cable as comes with the phone? I can confirm it is a USB-C cable that is exactly the same as what ships with the phone, so it doesn't really matter if you want to use them interchangeably. The phone charges while in the DeX dock, so you don't have to worry about running out of power. The dock includes a fan to help keep your phone cool. It has turned on a time or two where I can hear it. It's not loud, but it was noticeable. I'm not sure whether the fan runs all the time at a quieter setting--if so, I haven't noticed it. Many apps work fine, there are a couple that won't work, and there are many that work but are not resizable. You can use an app called DeX Max (I am not affiliated with the app) to repackage your apps to be resizable. So far I've used it for two apps--Netflix and Microsoft's Remote Desktop app. Netflix is much more enjoyable full screen (there's also an immersive mode toggle to get rid of the bar across the top of the screen when using Netflix full screen). I couldn't get a remote desktop to display properly until I used DeX Max on the Remote Desktop app, and now it works perfectly. There have been some apps that I use that just don't have a larger screen layout, so I have been finding some new apps to use. The apps included on the desktop when you startup DeX are optimized for DeX and work great--there is a file browser, a gallery, a browser and an email client. I've switched back and forth between the Chrome browser and the Samsung browser in DeX. The nice thing about the Samsung browser is it defaults to desktop versions of web pages, while Chrome will default to mobile (you can tick the box in settings to request the desktop site, but you have to do this for every tab). There are a variety of apps optimized for DeX that you can find easily by clicking the apps button in the bottom left and choosing the banner at the top of the menu that pops up. Any app that has a good tablet layout will work well with DeX. I was looking forward to using the Microsoft Office apps on DeX. While they do work well, if you want to edit or save documents you need an Office 365 subscription. I don't have one right now. From the Samsung App Store (click the banner at the top of the app button menu on the taskbar to go straight to DeX apps) you can download Hancom Office for free. I haven't used it very much yet, but it seems to have most of the features most people will use. It opens Microsoft Office Documents and saves to Office document formats. In the notifications bar you can choose where you want your audio to be output--the phone or over HDMI. I have mine go over HDMI to the monitor, and then have a splitter cable coming out of the headphone jack on the monitor to go to speakers and to wired headphones. I have no issues with the audio. There was a short while when I couldn't seem to get the audio to work on some stuff even though it worked on others--turns out I had Do Not Disturb turned on and turning it off fixed the issue. You can set some defaults for your DeX desktop using an app called DeX Hub (I am not affiliated with the app). This can include settings for bluetooth, WiFi, HDMI audio output, audio levels, etc. Most phone cases are not compatible with DeX. If you want a DeX compatible case, look for cases that don't just have cutouts for the ports on the bottom, but that have the entire bottom cut away, except for the corners where it holds the phone. Most of the official Samsung cases have the right configuration. The problem with most third party cases is that the thickness of the case doesn't allow the phone to be fully docked on the station. Seeing how the Samsung cases are configured correctly and I like using the Samsung Clear View stand case, I was disappointed to find that the Clear View case is not compatible. There is actually a built in notification specifically for this case when docking with DeX that says it is not compatible. It docks fine, but I think the issue is the magnet on the front of the case that turns the screen off--you can't have the case folded open when docked, and DeX can't work with the magnet against the display. I have another third-party case I can use with DeX that I might switch to. For now, I take my phone out of the case to use the dock. I have been very satisfied with the DeX and it has met or exceeded my expectations. It may not be perfect, but I think a lot of that is on app developers not supporting it yet. The DeX really takes the S8/S8+ to the next level to offer something available from no other phone. It is really well executed, and definitely worth it in my opinion, especially with the recent price drop to under $100.