Windows Node and Android Node are in testing. They are available to try, but compatibility and reliability are still being validated. An available installer does not mean every system, phone model or operation has been verified.
First identify who is operating the device
Remote desktop gives a person a view of another machine and an interactive way to operate it. When the task is to help somebody through an unfamiliar graphical application, that may be the most direct choice. An agent can also use computer-use tools, but that requires a supported interface and observation loop rather than assuming any remote desktop product is automatically agent-ready.
SSH is a mature way to execute commands on a reachable host. It supports scripted commands as well as interactive sessions, and can be restricted with dedicated users, forced commands, operating-system permissions and other controls. Describing SSH as necessarily unrestricted would be inaccurate.
ADC exposes registered devices as discoverable tool targets for agents, scripts and applications. It includes built-in file tools, shell execution, command templates, Android capabilities and registered local MCP tools. Whether an interface is useful depends on the capabilities the selected device actually advertises.
Connectivity and the calling contract are separate questions
An existing VPN or Tailscale-style network plus SSH can be a sound implementation. If an agent has credentials and a usable SSH tool, it can operate a remote computer. Adding a task service or MCP adapter can provide discovery, results and other features. ADC is not uniquely capable of remote execution.
The practical comparison is how much of the calling contract you want to maintain: registered device identities, available tools, per-agent and shared access, approvals, task state, cancellation and activity records. ADC packages these into one service. If your existing setup already covers them well, replacing it needs a concrete reason.
A structured API does not make a shell into a sandbox
ADC file operations validate paths against the permitted roots. For shell execution, the working directory is checked, but the command runs as a process with the connector's configured operating-system authority. Full device trust does not confine a process to its working directory. Templates constrain which command a caller selects; they do not supply general process isolation.
Approvals and receipts make intent and outcomes visible, and revocation prevents further ADC access. They cannot undo a completed host change or revoke an unrelated channel already created. Isolated shared execution is a distinct Linux-container mode with its own requirements and discarded workspace writes.
Choose for the workflow you actually have
Use remote desktop for a person's visual assistance when that is the task. Keep SSH for established engineering access and emergency administration when its network and account model fit. Consider ADC when an agent or application needs a reusable device service across several machines and callers, especially when local MCP tools or named device sharing are involved.
These choices can coexist. ADC does not need to replace your SSH management path, and installing it does not establish that every future workflow should move through it. Compare setup effort, ongoing maintenance and the requirements of one real task.