Jide's Remix Singularity OS will turn your Android phone into a PC

Jide, the company behind the Android-based Remix OS for PCs, is developing another version made for Android smartphones, but with a twist. Remix Singularity will work like a stock version of Android when used on a smartphone, but if you connect it to a PC monitor or big-screen TV, it will turn into a version of the PC-based Remix OS.

The idea is that Android phone owners will only need one device, their smartphone, to handle both their mobile phone needs as well as their hardcore PC needs.  When a phone with Remix Singularity is hooked up to a bigger screen, the OS will have features familiar to PC OS owners, such as file windows, a start menu, and a task bar. If you have a large TV, hooking your phone up to it will turn it into something like an Android TV device.

In concept, Remix Singularity is similar to what Microsoft created with its Continuum mode in Windows 10 Mobile. It also appears to work very much like the Samsung DeX add-on that is rumored to be made available for owners of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy G8 phone later this spring.

The Remix Singularity ROM will be free to download, according to what Jide’s co-founder David Ko told The Verge in an interview today. He thinks its solution for offering a PC experience with a smartphone will succeed where others have failed, due to its low cost and its ability to run all Android apps. He also claims that the company is looking for OEMs that will be able to offer phones that will support Remix Singularity out of the box.

While all that sounds good on the surface, downloading ROMs for Android phones is still an activity that’s limited for only hardcore users. There’s also the fact that the Google Play Store will need to be sideloaded for Remix Singularity to access the huge library of Android apps. Again, that kind of effort, while easy for many people, still takes some effort for most people that are not well versed in using ROMs.

Jide plans to launch Remix Singularity sometime in the second half of 2017. In the meantime, what do you think of the company’s idea? Would you like to turn your Android smartphone into your one device that you use everywhere, including at your home or work office? Let us know your opinions on this matter in the comments!