Samsung is holding an event later this month where the company is expected to launch several new Galaxy-branded laptops and tablets. And it looks like new accessories are on the way as well.

After publishing details about the new Samsung Keyboard Trio 500 on the Samsung Levant website earlier this month, Samsung has now confirmed that the keyboard features a DeX key that lets you quickly activate Samsung’s Android-as-a-desktop-OS software with a single keypress. There are also three app shortcut keys that you can use to launch up to three different apps of your choice.

Now Samsung has officially announced the new multi-device wireless keyboard with a few special features for folks with Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Pricing hasn’t been revealed yet, but Samsung says the new keyboard will be available in May, 2021.

The compact keyboard measures about 11″ x 5″ x 0.6″ and weighs less than 15 ounces and Samsung says its keys are “almost the same size as a regular keyboard’s” while offering an overall small footprint that should make the keyboard portable enough to take with you or useful enough to place on your desk. It’s powered by a pair of AAA batteries, and while I know some folks would prefer a built-in rechargeable battery, this setup does have the advantage of allowing you to swap batteries on the go and/or use your own rechargeables which can be replaced years from now if they begin to degrade over time.

Samsung’s new keyboard can be paired with up to three different devices, allowing you to, for example, switch between phone, tablet, and PC with a button click.

It will be available in black or white color options, and the keyboard has all the usual alphanumeric and symbol keys plus a handful of special function keys in the Fn row, including:

  • 3 customizable “Hot Key” app launch keys
  • 3 device keys for switching between devices
  • Samsung DeX key

That last key lets you active Samsung’s Android-as-desktop user interface that gives the mobile operating system a taskbar, desktop, and support for viewing running applications in resizeable windows that can be moved across the screen. Basically it lets you use Android in a similar fashion to Windows, macOS, or most desktop Linux distributions.

Samsung notes that the keyboard supports DeX on tablets including Galaxy Tab S4, S5e, S6, and S7 series tablets as well as the Galaxy Tab Active Pro. It’s unclear if the upcoming Galaxy Tab S7 Lite will support DeX mode or not.

The Hot Key functionality, meanwhile, requires a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet running Samsung’s One UI 3.1 or later software, which means you’ll need a device featuring software released in March 2021 or later.

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, but I suspect we’ll learn more by April 28 when the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event takes place.

Update: The Samsung Keyboard Trio 500 will be available in Germany starting in June for about $55. 

via @MaxJmb and WinFuture

This article was originally published April 19, 2021 and last updated April 26, 2021

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9 replies on “Samsung Smart Keyboard Trio 500 with a DeX button is made for tablets, phones, and PCs”

  1. I wonder what the true USB HID Usage code is for that Dex key.

    I’m wondering how possible it is for me to use that function on a standard keyboard, or how possible it is for me to write my own keyboard firmware to use that specific USB HID Usage code.

  2. Not sure why, but I love using tiny keyboards for my desktop PCs (K830, K810), but imo, something like this really needs an internal rechargeable battery (or at the very least, designed for the cheaper and more common AA instead of the slightly smaller AAA).

    1. I loved my K810 until the arrow, right ctrl/shift/alt/slash/period keys stopped working. I would have bought another but bluetooth 3.0 resulted in occasionally horrible lag so I got the newer K780 (not nearly as compact, definitely not light, but it holds my phone/tablet by itself and bluetooth 4.0 makes it more responsive.

      1. Think everything still works fine on my K810, but after a while I started getting random lags/disconnects and stopped using it. Had a similar problem with my M555b mouse. Thought it might’ve been my wireless/bluetooth card, but changed that out and the connectivity issues eventually returned.

        After switching to the K830 and MX Anywhere 2, everything’s been fine, even when sharing a single Nano receiver.

    2. Lack of a number pad, maybe? I find that I can’t use a full keyboard with number pad at all due to the ergonomics of the thing – it always feels like the mouse is way too far to the right, and the rest of the keyboard too offset to the left. An 80% keyboard front and center, with mouse just to the right, feels just right to my hands.

      1. I totally get that. I don’t have that problem on a desktop (and heck, half the time I use the mouse on the left side anyways) but I totally feel that on laptops. If I am typing comfortably the screen is offset to the right, if I have the screen centered, my arms are offset to the left…

      2. Think you’re right. Got used to using a mini Adesso keyboard without the numpad for years (had a pull-out tray under my desk and wanted more mouse room).

        Still appreciate having a numpad when typing in spreadsheets at work, but the overall placement for keyboard and mouse just feels ‘off’ in comparison.

    1. You’re so right. I literally just unboxed my brand new Logitech K380 a few minutes ago, dropped in on Liliputing, saw this, and had the same thought. The resemblance is uncanny. It definitely has Logitech involvement.

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