com.sec.android.app.desktoplauncher Copy

Recorded as "Samsung DeX home", this belongs to Samsung DeX, the desktop mode described above for com.sec.android.desktopmode.uiservice. Its label, its package name and its launcher-style privileges in our sample (BIND_APPWIDGET and BIND_WALLPAPER among them) point to it providing the home screen shown inside DeX, that is the desktop, taskbar, app drawer and shortcuts on the external display. Samsung does not document DeX at the package level, so read that as a well-supported inference rather than a documented mapping. It has no launcher entry of its own on the phone in any observation in our sample. Like the DeX component above it is part of the Samsung system image rather than a Play app. Every observation in our sample carries the same Samsung framework signing key, none is Play eligible, and it is seen only on samsung devices, on API levels 28 to 36, with version names from 3.0.09.13 to 3.0.17.7. The two packages are always seen together in our sample, on the same 24 devices. Version note: the same caveat applies as for the DeX component above. With Android 16 desktop windowing and One UI 8 the DeX shell was rebuilt on the platform's own desktop mode, and Samsung has not documented what that means for this package, so its precise role under One UI 8 could not be sourced. Do not assume behaviour observed on an older One UI carries forward. For Android Enterprise, EMM and kiosk use it has no enrolment or policy role of its own, and the same Knox statement applies: DeX is not supported on devices running in Kiosk mode or Lock task mode. Where DeX is part of a deployment that does not use those modes, the Knox Service Plugin DeX customisation policies are the supported way to shape this home screen, hiding apps in the app drawer, adding application and URL shortcuts, setting home alignment and wallpaper, and controlling the taskbar. Prefer those controls over disabling the package: the effect of disabling it on DeX was not verified here and should be tested on a device first, so treat it with caution.

• Samsung DeX - Samsung UK →
• DeX policies - Knox Service Plugin, Samsung Knox Documentation →
• Developer preview: Enhanced Android desktop experiences with connected displays - Android Developers Blog →
• Package provenance for com.sec.android.app.desktoplauncher - Android System App Database →

• Signed by the device maker's own signing key (Samsung), so it is an OEM preinstall, and that single certificate is consistent across all 9 device profiles. It also signs the Android framework, so it is a platform-level key on its device(s). Inferred from the certificate appearing only on Samsung devices (580 packages, 11729 observations).
• Its largest observed manifest declares 55 permissions: 11 signature or system-level, 9 install-time and 35 vendor or uncatalogued.
• APK size ranges from 4.1 MB to 15.5 MB across the reporting device profiles, so the build differs substantially between them.
• Never reported as user-facing, so it runs as a background or system component rather than an app the user opens.