A recent patent filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office seems to indicate that Samsung wants to create a DeX-like dock that works well beyond its own flagships. The patent, listed as application number 1020180097272, was filed late last month and is still awaiting review and is marked as accepted but ‘ Unexamined.’ So there is a chance it will ultimately be denied or that it won’t be approved for some time yet. Having said that, the invention in question is for a universal “Desk Top Type” dock. It isn’t immediately clear what meaning the company is trying to convey with its use of the word ‘universal.’ However, that could imply that this is a dock that will allow any device with USB display output support to work similarly to its own DeX-branded offerings.
The overall design of the accessory seems to align well with that concept, which could add some weight to that prospect. Described as a dock with a connector that set on a leaf spring, intended to keep it facing upright when no device is connected, the dock is portrayed as being versatile in the associated images. It looks almost identical to any stand-style charging dock, with a back that rests a connected handset at an angle to prevent tipping or falling over. However, a “connector” is shown protruding from the front and positioned to point directly upwards. Although exact details about that aren’t provided in the documentation, the uniform square-like shape brings to mind a USB Type-C connector. Once a device is connected to that, the connector’s mount is depressed, allowing it to rotate so that the device can be leaned onto the stand.
As expressly mentioned in the design’s description, that quirk is in place in the new patent so that a device of any length, thickness or port placement can take advantage of the dock. Since many modern Android devices do actually support video output through their respective micro USB or USB Type-C plug, that could open up almost any handset to the DeX experience. Conversely, a fixed connector would be much more limited because it would only fit devices with the above-mentioned attributes set within a fixed range. Of course, there’s no guarantee that Samsung will actually use the patent or that the accessory will be widespread if it does.
