What’s even better is that Sidecar functions as an app on the iPad. Even the OneNote app on MacOS feels a lot more natural to use than the iPadOS version, with some more features, and a lot more visible inking space. My personal favorite app for this is Tayasui Sketches, which is a fun sketching app. It feels awesome to use the Apple Pencil on drawing apps on Mac OS, where you get a full desktop-like experience, rather than a mobile-first layout. It’s a nice use for the accessory, which I never really used otherwise when my iPad is on its own. In this situation, you can use the Apple Pencil to scroll web pages or touch the screen where you would want to touch with a finger. While I still can’t use my fingers like I can on a Surface, the Apple Pencil fills the gap.

One of the benefits of this neat trick is being able to control MacOS on an iPad Pro with touch. Additionally, fellow Reddit users have posted about this before. I’m not sure if this is a bug, or it is intended, but the folks at MacRumors do point out that both can be used at the same time. It takes multiple tries, but you know when you have it right when the settings look like what I have in the section above. I picked my iPad from the list multiple times in both areas simultaneously until both were checked.

Next, I clicked the Link Keyboard and Mouse option, and also the Mirror or extend. I then clicked the Add Display drop-down button again. That done, I went back to the Display part of the system settings from earlier. I also headed to the Display Settings link and choose my iPad as my main display. Then, in MacOS 12.3, head to System Preferences and choose Display.įrom there, I clicked the Add Display button and added my iPad Pro as a second display. All you have to do is enable Sidecar, as well as Universal Control, and then keep your iPad and Mac close and on the same Wi-Fi. So, what’s the magic and how’d I get it to work? Well, you’ll still need access to a Mac with a keyboard and mouse to get this going. Getting it working Arif Bacchus/ Digital Trends Paired with the Apple Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, I could control everything from my Mac Mini with just my iPad’s keyboard and mouse (and not the one attached to my Mac Mini.) Literally, anything, and in any room of my house, as long as the Wi-Fi is stable enough and the Bluetooth connection stays. I'm running MacOS on my iPad with Sidecar and Universal Control! /XqMu0skOnW As long as my Mac Mini and iPad Pro are on the same network, Bluetooth is enabled, and signed in with the same Apple ID, I can move everything from my Mac Mini down to my iPad screen and turn my iPad into a portable touch and stylus-enabled Mac. Little did I know, that these two features can actually come together as one. Fitbit Versa 3Īpple could soon put an M3 chip in its worst laptopĪpple’s XR headset could get one of the Mac’s best features

Mac mini using ipad as display