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# Codex can now control other desktop devices via Computer Use
- URL: https://www.testingcatalog.com/openai-will-let-codex-control-other-desktop-devices-via-computer-use/
- Published: 2026-05-16T17:51:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-16T17:55:55.000Z
- Description: OpenAI is developing Computer Use for Codex remote control that could work even when a laptop is locked or asleep; Codex will also be able to control other desktop devices without SSH.
- Author: Alexey Shabanov
- Tags: ChatGPT News, AI Rumours, Latest AI News

OpenAI appears to be quietly extending the reach of its Codex remote control system, working on a capability that would let the coding agent operate macOS applications through Computer Use even when a laptop is locked or asleep. The work is being positioned as a follow-up to the [remote control feature](https://www.testingcatalog.com/openai-brings-codex-to-chatgpt-mobile-app-for-ios-and-android/) that landed in the ChatGPT mobile app on May 14, which lets iPhone and Android users review outputs, approve commands, switch models, and dispatch new tasks to a Mac running the Codex desktop app. 

![Codex](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2a/1b/2a1b1782-8506-4d7d-bf53-ad3fb52e2a0f/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-22.36.15.png)

The new piece in development addresses one of the most awkward gaps in that workflow. **The blocker has been Computer Use itself**, which requires an unlocked, awake session to see the screen, move the cursor, and type in apps. Lifting that restriction would mean a phone could direct the agent to open a desktop app, test a GUI build, run through a simulator, or hit a data source, all without the user having to walk back to the machine to log in first.

![Codex](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2a/1b/2a1b1782-8506-4d7d-bf53-ad3fb52e2a0f/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-22.37.51.png)

It would also close a gap with Anthropic, which shipped its own phone-to-machine control for Claude Code back in February but remains similarly constrained once a Mac locks.

How Apple reacts is the open question. Bypassing the standard expectation that a locked screen means an idle, untouchable session sits uncomfortably with macOS security defaults, and any approach that keeps a screen-driving agent active inside a locked session will likely draw attention from Cupertino. Release timing has not surfaced, but this should be read as the second beat of the same remote-control story rather than a standalone launch.

![Codex](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2a/1b/2a1b1782-8506-4d7d-bf53-ad3fb52e2a0f/content/images/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-16-at-16.45.18.webp)

Additionally, [OpenAI](https://www.testingcatalog.com/tag/chatgpt/) is exploring the possibility of connecting to and controlling other desktop devices running the Codex app. For example, you can install it on a Mac Mini and operate it directly from your main device. Based on the still-developing UI component, users will be able to connect to and operate many devices remotely.