diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f6d7df9..3a6edaf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -413,7 +413,7 @@ dictionary that is created if you have set any of the decorations to `true` in y
 The currently supported decorations are:
 
 - App version - The current version of the app from the `pubspec.yaml`.
-- Device - the device passed to the flutter run command
+- Device - the running device, or, while nothing is running, the device `flutter run` would default to
 - Project config - the name of the currently selected project configuration
 
 To add them to your config you can do something like
diff --git a/lua/flutter-tools/commands.lua b/lua/flutter-tools/commands.lua
index bd46820..879be37 100644
--- a/lua/flutter-tools/commands.lua
+++ b/lua/flutter-tools/commands.lua
@@ -47,6 +47,21 @@ local function use_debugger_runner(force_debug)
   return false
 end
 
+---@param device Device?
+local function set_current_device(device)
+  current_device = device
+  utils.emit_event(utils.events.DEVICE_CHANGED, { data = device })
+end
+
+---Resolve the device name from the `Launching ... on <device> in <mode> mode` output line
+---@param line string
+local function update_device_from_output(line)
+  local name = line:match("^Launching .+ on (.+) in %w+ mode")
+  if not name then return end
+  local device = vim.tbl_extend("force", current_device or {}, { name = vim.trim(name) })
+  set_current_device(device)
+end
+
 function M.current_device() return current_device end
 
 function M.is_running() return runner ~= nil and runner:is_running() end
@@ -76,13 +91,14 @@ end
 ---@param is_err boolean if this is stdout or stderr
 local function on_run_data(is_err, data)
   if is_err and config.dev_log.notify_errors then ui.notify(data, ui.ERROR, { timeout = 5000 }) end
+  update_device_from_output(data)
   dev_log.log(data)
 end
 
 local function shutdown()
   if runner then runner:cleanup() end
   runner = nil
-  current_device = nil
+  set_current_device(nil)
   utils.emit_event(utils.events.PROJECT_CONFIG_CHANGED)
   dev_tools.on_flutter_shutdown()
 end
@@ -240,7 +256,7 @@ local function run(opts, project_conf, launch_config)
   executable.get(function(paths)
     local args = opts.cli_args or get_run_args(opts, project_conf)
 
-    current_device = opts.device or get_device_from_args(args)
+    set_current_device(opts.device or get_device_from_args(args))
     if project_conf then
       if project_conf.pre_run_callback then
         local callback_args = {
@@ -642,6 +658,7 @@ end
 if __TEST then
   M.__run = run
   M.__get_run_args = get_run_args
+  M.__update_device_from_output = update_device_from_output
 end
 
 return M
diff --git a/lua/flutter-tools/decorations.lua b/lua/flutter-tools/decorations.lua
index fa674f5..d536203 100644
--- a/lua/flutter-tools/decorations.lua
+++ b/lua/flutter-tools/decorations.lua
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 local lazy = require("flutter-tools.lazy")
 local commands = lazy.require("flutter-tools.commands") ---@module "flutter-tools.commands"
+local devices = lazy.require("flutter-tools.devices") ---@module "flutter-tools.devices"
 local path = lazy.require("flutter-tools.utils.path") ---@module "flutter-tools.utils.path"
 local utils = lazy.require("flutter-tools.utils") ---@module "flutter-tools.utils"
 local Path = require("plenary.path")
@@ -32,12 +33,17 @@ end
 
 local function device_show()
   local device = commands.current_device()
-  if device then set_decoration_item("device", device) end
+  if device then return set_decoration_item("device", device) end
+  devices.get_default_device(function(default_device)
+    if commands.current_device() then return end
+    set_decoration_item("device", default_device)
+  end)
 end
 
 function M.statusline.device()
+  device_show()
   api.nvim_create_autocmd("User", {
-    pattern = utils.events.APP_STARTED,
+    pattern = { utils.events.APP_STARTED, utils.events.DEVICE_CHANGED },
     callback = device_show,
   })
 end
diff --git a/lua/flutter-tools/devices.lua b/lua/flutter-tools/devices.lua
index 4264a83..9d13a16 100644
--- a/lua/flutter-tools/devices.lua
+++ b/lua/flutter-tools/devices.lua
@@ -16,6 +16,17 @@ local M = {
 local EMULATOR = 1
 local DEVICE = 2
 
+local NON_EPHEMERAL_PLATFORMS = {
+  ["darwin"] = true,
+  ["darwin-arm64"] = true,
+  ["darwin-x64"] = true,
+  ["linux-arm64"] = true,
+  ["linux-x64"] = true,
+  ["windows-arm64"] = true,
+  ["windows-x64"] = true,
+  ["web-javascript"] = true,
+}
+
 ---@param result string[]
 ---@param type integer
 local function get_devices(result, type)
@@ -86,6 +97,51 @@ function M.to_selection_entries(result, device_type)
   end, devices)
 end
 
+---@param entry table
+---@return Device
+local function to_device(entry)
+  return {
+    name = entry.name,
+    id = entry.id,
+    platform = entry.targetPlatform,
+    system = entry.sdk,
+    type = DEVICE,
+  }
+end
+
+---Pick the device `flutter run` would use without an explicit `-d` argument.
+---Mirrors flutter's own resolution: a single supported device wins, otherwise
+---a single ephemeral (non desktop/web) device wins, otherwise flutter prompts.
+---@param result string[]
+---@return Device?
+function M.resolve_default_device(result)
+  local ok, decoded = pcall(vim.json.decode, table.concat(result, "\n"))
+  if not ok or type(decoded) ~= "table" then return end
+
+  local supported = vim.tbl_filter(function(entry) return entry.isSupported ~= false end, decoded)
+  if #supported == 0 then return end
+  if #supported == 1 then return to_device(supported[1]) end
+
+  local ephemeral = vim.tbl_filter(
+    function(entry) return not NON_EPHEMERAL_PLATFORMS[entry.targetPlatform] end,
+    supported
+  )
+  if #ephemeral == 1 then return to_device(ephemeral[1]) end
+end
+
+---Asynchronously get the device `flutter run` would default to
+---@param callback fun(device: Device?)
+function M.get_default_device(callback)
+  executable.flutter(function(cmd)
+    local job = Job:new({ command = cmd, args = { "devices", "--machine" } })
+    job:after(vim.schedule_wrap(function(j, code)
+      if code ~= 0 then return callback(nil) end
+      callback(M.resolve_default_device(j:result()))
+    end))
+    job:start()
+  end)
+end
+
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------//
 -- Emulators
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------//
diff --git a/lua/flutter-tools/utils/init.lua b/lua/flutter-tools/utils/init.lua
index 0a5e213..572a4c5 100644
--- a/lua/flutter-tools/utils/init.lua
+++ b/lua/flutter-tools/utils/init.lua
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ function M.join(lines) return table.concat(lines, "\n") end
 M.events = {
   PROJECT_CONFIG_CHANGED = "FlutterToolsProjectConfigChanged",
   APP_STARTED = "FlutterToolsAppStarted",
+  DEVICE_CHANGED = "FlutterToolsDeviceChanged",
   OUTLINE_CHANGED = "FlutterToolsOutlineChanged",
   LSP_ANALYSIS_COMPLETED = "FlutterToolsLspAnalysisCompleted",
 }
diff --git a/tests/commands_spec.lua b/tests/commands_spec.lua
index 6aef7d8..1bc2580 100644
--- a/tests/commands_spec.lua
+++ b/tests/commands_spec.lua
@@ -86,4 +86,25 @@ describe("commands", function()
       )
     end
   )
+
+  it("should pick up the device name from the run output", function()
+    commands.__update_device_from_output(
+      "Launching lib/main.dart on iPhone 16 Pro in debug mode..."
+    )
+
+    assert.equal("iPhone 16 Pro", commands.current_device().name)
+  end)
+
+  it("should keep the device id when the name is parsed from the run output", function()
+    commands.__update_device_from_output("Launching lib/main.dart on macOS in debug mode...")
+
+    local device = commands.current_device()
+    assert.equal("macOS", device.name)
+  end)
+
+  it("should ignore unrelated output lines", function()
+    commands.__update_device_from_output('Running "flutter pub get" in example...')
+
+    assert.is_nil(commands.current_device())
+  end)
 end)
diff --git a/tests/devices_spec.lua b/tests/devices_spec.lua
index 1c266e1..0193496 100644
--- a/tests/devices_spec.lua
+++ b/tests/devices_spec.lua
@@ -56,4 +56,53 @@ INFO    | Storing crashdata in: /tmp/android-ts/emu-crash-34.2.14.db, detection
       assert.same({}, devices.to_selection_entries(nil))
     end)
   end)
+
+  describe("default device resolution - ", function()
+    local devices = require("flutter-tools.devices")
+
+    local function machine_output(entries) return { vim.json.encode(entries) } end
+
+    it("should pick the only supported device", function()
+      local device = devices.resolve_default_device(machine_output({
+        { name = "macOS", id = "macos", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "darwin" },
+      }))
+
+      assert.equal("macos", device.id)
+      assert.equal("macOS", device.name)
+      assert.equal("darwin", device.platform)
+    end)
+
+    it("should prefer the single ephemeral device over desktop and web", function()
+      local device = devices.resolve_default_device(machine_output({
+        { name = "iPhone 16", id = "sim-id", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "ios" },
+        { name = "macOS", id = "macos", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "darwin" },
+        { name = "Chrome", id = "chrome", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "web-javascript" },
+      }))
+
+      assert.equal("sim-id", device.id)
+    end)
+
+    it("should ignore unsupported devices", function()
+      local device = devices.resolve_default_device(machine_output({
+        { name = "iPhone 16", id = "sim-id", isSupported = false, targetPlatform = "ios" },
+        { name = "macOS", id = "macos", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "darwin" },
+      }))
+
+      assert.equal("macos", device.id)
+    end)
+
+    it("should return nil when several ephemeral devices are connected", function()
+      local device = devices.resolve_default_device(machine_output({
+        { name = "iPhone 16", id = "sim-id", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "ios" },
+        { name = "Pixel 8", id = "emulator-5554", isSupported = true, targetPlatform = "android" },
+      }))
+
+      assert.is_nil(device)
+    end)
+
+    it("should return nil for no devices or invalid output", function()
+      assert.is_nil(devices.resolve_default_device(machine_output({})))
+      assert.is_nil(devices.resolve_default_device({ "not json" }))
+    end)
+  end)
 end)