Samsung's new DeX docking station won't be cheap

Like many companies before it, Samsung wants to turn your phone into a PC. In order to achieve this, you’ll need a dock accessory, called DeX Station, once you get your hands on a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus. The dock, unfortunately, won’t be cheap.

According to a listing on Samsung’s website, the Dex Station will retail for $149 and ship at the end of April. That is, of course, around the same time the S8 and S8 Plus are expected to ship as well.

At a briefing earlier this month, Samsung told us its new DeX feature is aimed more toward business users, which may explain the pricing.

The DeX Station is a small puck-shaped dock that plugs into an external monitor and essentially gives Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus users a desktop experience. In addition to gaining access to windowed Android apps, the feature also gives users full access to their phone’s notifications. Microsoft’s Office apps and Adobe’s suit of creative mobile apps have been optimized for DeX.

While the feature is meant to mimic a desktop experience, it’s worth noting you’re still using mobile apps. Other companies have tried the phone-into-desktop feature before, but nothing has ever really caught on. Perhaps a Chromebook, which now supports Android apps and offers a desktop browser, is a better option for Android users.

$149 is pretty expensive

When you consider an S8 starts at around $750, adding in another $149 for a DeX dock can get pricey. Unless you don’t own a computer, there aren’t many compelling reasons to give the accessory a shot. Then again, its cool factor is undeniable.

The dock features two USB 2.0 ports, an ethernet jack, HDMI, and a USB-C port for charging. Samsung says the dock also features a built-in fan to keep your device cool.