This Dock Turns Your iPhone or Android Smartphone Into A Laptop

News
By Aaron Klotz
published

An alternate solution to Chromebooks.

HTL WitH
(Image credit: Amazon.co.jp)

PC Watch has uncovered a new makeshift laptop design that turns any smartphone into a working laptop. The HTL WitH features a 13.3-inch display and a 5000mAh battery. It is compatible with Android and iPhone smartphones featuring display output through their respectable charging ports.

The WitH features a 13.3-inch IPS LCD that supports a 1080P resolution; the clamshell measures 311x210x14.9mm and weighs 2.6lb. The device carries a very respectable 5000mAh battery that we believe powers both the device and charges the smartphone simultaneously. Either way, the laptop reportedly has a 6-hour operation time.

Port selection includes two dedicated USB ports for phone input - one for Android and the other for iPhone, two HDMI ports, with each one offering input or output capabilities, a 3.6mm headphone jack, and a card reader. Finally, there's one USB port for charging the laptop and another that appears to be a standard port that doesn't do anything special.

Sadly, this laptop device is not available in the United States and only appears to be available from Amazon's Japanese web page, priced at 61,380 Yen or $449.

This isn't the first time we've seen a device like this; though it never came to market, Razer's Project Linda in 2018 was an early example of a smartphone-powered laptop, but with a focus on gaming. This concept device was unique because it docked Razer's smartphone directly where the touchpad would be located, allowing it to be used as a touchpad while installed.

The laptop also had many other cool features, including some unique gaming features that allowed keyboard and mouse inputs to work with the phone, and it featured 200GB of internal storage for the phone to utilize when plugged in. It's just a shame it never came out of its concept phase.

Another device out on the market is the Nexdock laptop powered by Samsung smartphones through Samsung's Dex software. You can buy this device right now, and it works with all Dex-supported phones starting with the S8.

But, the nice thing about the WitH is its wide range of support, including Android and iPhone devices. This is something the two previous examples lack, being locked into either Razer or Samsung's ecosystem.

Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • I would rather have an iPad Pro, or at least an iPad
    Reply
  • HideOut
    ....or you can buy actual Win 10/11 laptop thats 1080p with 8GB of ram and probably 256 or 512 of SSD for the same price. This is a HUGE pile of trash.
    Reply
  • ezst036
    This is really great. A lot of people want something ARM based and phones are already there.

    My only question would be about the compatibility with purely Linux based phones, or phones that have been de-google'd and are now running some sort of OS like LineageOS.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    HideOut said:
    ....or you can buy actual Win 10/11 laptop thats 1080p with 8GB of ram and probably 256 or 512 of SSD for the same price. This is a HUGE pile of trash.

    Great idea but they are always way to expensive.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    I liked Razer's implementation, where they turned the phone, docked to the case, into a mouse pad XD

    As form factor will never be uniform, it's almost impossible to get Companies to collaborate on something like this. Samsung has the docking station, which is really good, but the software is completely closed, so it's only for their phones.

    Regards.
    Reply
  • punkncat
    Samsung has a thing called "Dex" which is a PC type environment that you can cast to compatible viewing devices. If you hook up a keyboard and mouse it is a rather convincing Android desktop experience. The biggest downside being that the phone device is running all its background load as well as trying to cast and be responsive to the "docked/wireless" environment. The demand creates an incredible lag and latency to the experience, even with a high-end device.

    Beyond that aspect, much of what apps and so forth are designed for a phone are also designed to be interacted with via touch. Trying to force PC onto a mobile device is often a wash aside from very specific situations. IMO a wireless keyboard and a prop for your phone is still the best of both worlds for now.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    I have a s22, some times I use the dex from s8 works great. Only draw back is the screen resolution. Can play ps2 direct from smartphone (same resolution as a 1650)
    Reply
  • mo_osk
    I remember continuum... What could have be if Microsoft phone didn't fail?
    Reply
  • husker
    HideOut said:
    ....or you can buy actual Win 10/11 laptop thats 1080p with 8GB of ram and probably 256 or 512 of SSD for the same price. This is a HUGE pile of trash.

    I think you missed the point of this device. It would allow me to have all my phone apps and data right at my finger tips on a laptop-like device. And if I have a work phone and a personal phone it allows me to seamlessly switch between the two without the need to download or store my work data (workplace security violation) on another device. When I get a new phone the screen and keyboard would be the same, but other things like compute power, speed, storage, etc. would be upgraded due the better phone. If you have a small business, device management for windows PCs can be a major headache for even simple support issues. Taking that out of the loop by letting employees use a simpler and less tech-maintenance device like a phone for spreadsheets, word processing and other office/business tasks could save a lot of money. It may not appeal to you and your needs, but there is definitely a market for this kind of thing.
    Reply
  • AlphaCompton
    I own a Nexdock and that was a poor description. It can be used for far more than just Samsung Dex and a quick google search would would tell you that. You can connect any HDMI device as long as you have a compatible HDMI cable, you can connect a Switch with one usb c cable and any phone that supports display out over usb C or Dp alt mode, not just Dex and other phones with a desktop experience. I’ve been playing around with Dex since the Galaxy S8, it’s pretty amazing but the performance and usefulness was questionable at that time. I have no idea what type of old phone that other user here is using Dex with but on my s10 and my current Fold 3, Dex is amazing. You can easily multi task and still use your phone too, its remarkably good and you’ll forget you’re on a phone when browsing the web, opening media or large documents. The nexdock can even fold its screen over to be just a touch screen and the touch screen works on most phones and even on windows too.
    Reply