USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode: Android Phone Support List

A USB-C port that only charges fails a wired monitor when the phone never puts video on the high-speed lanes. USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode is a lane assignment, and an Android phone support list is only as long as the maker’s own page.

On 20 October 2026, two maker pages name wired video, and neither page is a universal Android list. Samsung’s US DeX FAQ lists the Galaxy series that work with a DeX cable or an HDMI cable, and a second Samsung page says a standard USB-C to HDMI adapter can start DeX. Google’s screen-projection page puts cable steps under the heading “Pixel 8 and later” and requires a display that supports a DisplayPort or HDMI to USB-C cable. VESA’s 22 September 2014 announcement is the lane map those adapters assume: some or all of four SuperSpeed lanes carry DisplayPort.

The dock check that sits beside this list is USB-C video output on Android. The topic home is Android compatibility.

The metal tongue is the same shape on phones that only charge and phones that also send DisplayPort. The connector does not settle the list.

Which Galaxy series does Samsung put on a cable?

Samsung’s US DeX FAQ, retrieved 20 October 2026, groups “DeX cable or HDMI cable” like this. A series name is the whole series Samsung wrote. This page does not split “S23 series” into unlisted storage or carrier variants.

Wireless DeX is a shorter S-phone list on the same FAQ: it starts at the S9 series, not the S8 series. An S8 on the HDMI list is not evidence for wireless DeX. DeX on PC is a third path. The FAQ says DeX on PC is not supported on the S26 series, S25 series, Z TriFold, Z Fold7, Z Flip7, Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Flip8, or other models updated to Android 15 and One UI 7 or later. That PC limit does not remove those phones from the HDMI list above.

Where Pixel wired video starts

Google’s help page “Project your Pixel phone’s screen,” retrieved 20 October 2026, titles the cable section “Connect your phone to a display device (Pixel 8 and later).” The steps are: plug DisplayPort or HDMI into the display, plug USB-C into the phone, then select Mirror display. The page’s important line says the display must support a DisplayPort or HDMI to USB-C cable. Phones before Pixel 8 are outside that heading. This list does not add Pixel 7 or earlier on the strength of a USB-C port.

Rules of thumb for a passive adapter

Rules of thumb. If the phone’s series is on Samsung’s DeX cable or HDMI list, Samsung’s setup page also says a standard USB-C to HDMI adapter can start DeX. If the phone is Pixel 8 or later, use Google’s DisplayPort or HDMI to USB-C steps, not the Samsung series table. If the phone is a Z Flip7 FE or an earlier Flip, Samsung says it is not compatible with DeX over an HDMI cable. If the model is absent from both pages, this list does not promote it to supported.

VESA’s 2014 announcement: four lanes can all carry DisplayPort, or two can stay on SuperSpeed USB. Schematic of the published examples, not a trace from a phone.

Work the lane rates VESA printed

Aggregate lane rate is the per-lane rate times the number of lanes:

A = n × R

Worked example. VESA’s early Alt Mode case uses existing DisplayPort 1.2a rates of 5.4 Gbit/s per lane on all four lanes.

A = 4 × 5.4 = 21.6 Gbit/s

VESA ties that 21.6 Gbit/s case to up to 4K at 4096 × 2160, 60 Hz, and up to 30-bit color. The same announcement’s dock example keeps two lanes for DisplayPort at 8.1 Gbit/s:

A = 2 × 8.1 = 16.2 Gbit/s

and still names 4K UHD at 3840 × 2160, with SuperSpeed USB on the other two lanes up to 10 Gbit/s in each direction. USB 2.0 can remain when all four lanes are on DisplayPort, because those pins are separate. None of these products is a Galaxy or Pixel measurement. Use them only after the phone’s own page says the wired path exists.

What a blank screen costs

Example of a dark panel beside a cable. The photograph is not a captured phone test.

A planning count, not a street price: one phone outside the HDMI list is one adapter the note already rules out. Ten such phones are ten wasted adapters.

Where the list stops

Samsung’s rows are series names from the US FAQ retrieved 20 October 2026. A regional support page can name a shorter set. Google’s heading is “Pixel 8 and later,” not a table of every later Pixel SKU. VESA’s lane figures are from the 22 September 2014 announcement. A phone can add USB4 or a different video mode in a later software note; until that note names the model, it stays off this list.

Methods and sources

Series rows are copied as groups from Samsung’s US DeX FAQ. The USB-C to HDMI adapter sentence is from Samsung’s “Use the Samsung DeX screen” page. Pixel steps are from Google’s screen-projection help. Lane rates are from VESA’s Alt Mode announcement. All four pages were retrieved 20 October 2026. The arithmetic multiplies only the rates those sentences print.

• Samsung, Frequently asked questions about Samsung DeX (retrieved 20 October 2026).
• Samsung, Use the Samsung DeX screen (retrieved 20 October 2026).
• Google, Project your Pixel phone’s screen (retrieved 20 October 2026).
• VESA, DisplayPort on the USB Type-C connector (announcement 22 September 2014; retrieved 20 October 2026).