I discovered 4 useful things my phone can do when it’s plugged into a TV

• Let you watch movies and shows in any app at any time
• Turn your TV into a workstation
• Run a photo slideshow or other presentation
• Charge your phone

The first upgrade I ever got for a TV, apart from speakers, was a first-generation Google Chromecast. For me and a lot of other people, it was a revelation — for $30, it freed you from the slow and terrible apps most smart TVs had at the time. You had to use phone apps or a computer to control it, but that was a small sacrifice. As a bonus, it was extremely portable. You could power it entirely off of your TV’s USB port if you wanted to.

Fast-forward to 2026. Some of you may not even care about add-on media streamers anymore, and the only interaction between your phone and your TV might be the occasional AirPlay or Google Cast session at work or a friend’s home. But there are actually a few things you can do by plugging your phone into your TV, some of which might save your hide. You’ll see what I mean.

Let you watch movies and shows in any app at any time

Take that, ISPs

Usually, there’s no particular reason to plug a phone into your TV’s HDMI port if you want to watch something in a popular app like Netflix or Disney+. Those apps are widely available, not just regionally, but on any device you can think of. You may also be sacrificing some audio and video fidelity versus streaming straight from your TV.

Where this tech really comes into its own is with apps and services you can’t easily access on a TV. Some may be region-blocked, unavailable for your TV’s operating system, and/or only on the web. You’re able to get around this because what you’re actually doing is mirroring your screen — if you can get it onto your phone, your TV shouldn’t discriminate.

If your landline is out, but you still have cell service, you may not have to postpone that Lord of the Rings marathon after all.

It can be worth mirroring popular apps in a few circumstances, such as an internet service outage. If your landline is out, but you still have cell service, you may not have to postpone that Lord of the Rings marathon after all. Another is if you’re at a hotel, and you’re unlucky enough to have a TV without AirPlay or Google Cast, but fortunate enough to find an open HDMI slot.

At the very least, mirroring can be a simpler way of playing videos saved locally to your phone. Many apps support local playback, most notably Apple Photos, Google Photos, and VLC, but HDMI can potentially be preferable to casting, and avoid format incompatibilities as long as the app itself can handle a file.

Be sure you’re using the right port, cable, and/or adapter combination, since older versions of HDMI may not support the resolutions and refresh rates you want. Anything compatible with HDMI 2.1 or later is ideal.

Turn your TV into a workstation

Work from anywhere

It’s rare that someone who needs to get remote work done doesn’t have a laptop or tablet with them, but it happens. It’s actually more likely in my profession. When I was on the news beat, there was always the risk that I would be asked to write breaking news outside my usual shifts, and few things irritate an editor more than making them do the writing instead.

If you’re an Android user, you’ve got two options. Android 16 or later includes a Desktop Mode, which as its name suggests, projects a Windows-like interface complete with a taskbar, multitasking, and larger app sizes. Samsung DeX actually predates Desktop Mode, but is effectively the same concept, just restricted to compatible Samsung Galaxy phones.

You will, of course, want more than just a compatible video cable to get work done. That includes a wireless mouse and keyboard setup, and some way of keeping your phone charged if you need to work for extended periods of time. That may mean buying a dock or USB hub with HDMI output. Some accessories may enable wired controllers and storage.

Sadly, there’s no iPhone equivalent of DeX or Desktop Mode, despite the fact that you can connect mice and keyboards. There have been rumors that Apple is working on the tech — but as of this writing, there’s no guarantee that it’ll show up in iOS 27.

Run a photo slideshow or other presentation

Possibly easier than a laptop

If you want to show photos or slides to someone — whether it’s your family, friends, coworkers, or clients — a phone may actually be the simplest option. Tablets and laptops aren’t as portable, and if you’ve ever attended regular office meetings, you’ve probably encountered that moment when someone can’t get Windows or macOS to cooperate.

For presenting from a connected phone, you’ve got two routes. The first is using HDMI screen mirroring, in which case you can present using any app, as long as it offers some way of going through fullscreen images one-by-one. The downside to this is that your audience may see your homescreen and the app’s interface at some point. If you’re worried about privacy or looking maximally professional, this may not be for you.

The other is plugging your phone into your TV’s USB port, since the built-in media player app on your TV may be able to browse your phone’s image files. This is potentially fraught with problems, however, including the fact that this won’t work at all if you’re trying to use the native file formats of apps like PowerPoint. JPEG files are preferable. Also, you may need to enable special settings to make your phone’s photo library accessible, in which case it may be easier to use HDMI, AirPlay, or Google Cast, if not a USB flash drive.

Charge your phone

Desperate times, desperate measures

One of the reasons streamers like the Chromecast and Roku Streaming Stick have a following is, as I said in my intro, the fact that you can power them entirely from a TV’s USB port. It’s not the best solution if you don’t want to wait for them to boot every time you turn your TV back on, but it’s still possible, owing to the fact that some degree of power delivery has been baked into USB for decades.

Some TVs may be equipped with USB-C, but how fast they’re able to charge depends on whether a port offers USB-PD.

If you have the right cable, but no convenient wall charger or spot to plug one in, you can charge a phone this way as well. Expect things to take a while, however. Many TVs are still equipped with USB 2.0 or 3.0, in which case they’ll probably top out at 4.5 or 7.5W if you’re lucky. For sake of reference, even the basic iPhone 17 supports charging up to about 27 or 28W with a compatible USB-C charger.

Some TVs may be equipped with USB-C, but how fast they’re able to charge depends on whether a port offers USB-PD (Power Delivery). Without PD, you’ll top out at 15W. With PD, performance can hypothetically reach as high as 240W, but it’s doubtful you’ll see that in action. More power means higher manufacturing costs, and most people aren’t trying to charge their phone from their TV, much less something that demands hundreds of watts.