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This will keep my 2012 iMac alive if It’s supported. I have a new 12.9” iPad Pro which is my main computer. But sometimes I like to sit at my desk. I have fewer and fewer reasons to keep my iMac around but being able to use my iPad Pro with it as both a second screen and ask an input device with Pencil, really makes keeping a Mac worthwhile.

It's being billed as a macOS Catalina feature, and it looks like you're supported: https://www.apple.com/macos/catalina-preview/#compatibility
 
The second screen thing is cool. But being able to use it with the pen is even better – if only Photoshop was supported. Can't really use Premiere or After Effects with a pen...
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Maybe that's the reason that Photoshop is not even supported.

Photoshop will come natively to the iPad. And most users just want a second display, or use their Mac from the couch.

Not everyone who uses a remote display or even Apple pencil needs a Wacom. If you're just painting in contrast and saturation, like me, as opposed to drawing art from scratch, the remote display feature may be enough. However, AstroPad adds some toolbars that go above and beyond the remote sketch pad, and into Cintique territory. Eventually Wacom will have to create a wireless Cintique.

I'm a little disappointed that there's no FinalCut for iPad. Even if it was a lighter version that allowed for a rough cut, or organizing and culling clips. If LumaFusion could export to FinalCut, that would be very useful. I don't like editing on my lap, though, I much prefer the mouse and a huge desktop display.
 
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Finally! This feature is so big I was surprised it didn’t launch with the first iPad Pro. For illustrators using the iPad as a cheap ( but not inferior imho) Wacom alternative is amazing.
I just hope photoshop is supported
 
So as I understand it from the keynote: it lets the iPad act exactly like an external monitor, allowing any window to be dragged over per usual. But I’m pretty unclear on the Pencil support situation. The Pencil is only supported on Mac apps that also have iPad apps? If anyone understood it better, I’d appreciate clarification.

This is potentially huge for me as someone who is considering replacing their portable cintiq.
But first I really need to know:
- how is the latency, with and without the cable, especially when using the Pencil
- if/how Apple is handling the cursor hover with the Pencil (It’s a bit of a necessity for me)
- if the pencil can do a right click (Also kind of a necessity)
- And most importantly, which apps will fully support the Pencil
 
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It'll be interesting to see if Astropad responds by adding now-crippled functionality to their non-subscription app (I'm thinking of lack of modifier keys in the pay-once app).

It'll also be interesting if Photoshop remains on the unsupported list, because Adobe wants you to buy the upcoming iOS Photoshop version. If they keep it from working with Sidecar, Astropad may not be totally dead yet...
 
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I can't get it to work. I don't have a Sidecar preference, and when I run "Sidecar" from Spotlight, I get the attached error... Anyone see this and fix it?
 

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took me a bit, but what you need to do is go to system preferences on your Mac (with Catalina installed) and you'll see the sidecar icon

I can't get it to work. I don't have a Sidecar preference, and when I run "Sidecar" from Spotlight, I get the attached error... Anyone see this and fix it?

Ya I don't see it either..

Can you post a screenshot ?

I'm gonna guess this might be limited by graphics power.

Edit: I found it but it's not visible.
 
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I never heard nor saw written a restriction to iPadpro ... but would expect Apple to limit to the pro.

I just saw a youtube video with someone using a air 3 (the model that should arrive today) and it seemed to work fine. From what i gather, its using a form of Airplay to transmit, and i would naturally assume if you have a lightning or usb cable (obviously the usb cable would work better as it can transfer data and power) it would work even better...


and here

So that said, i am in no rush to pay more for a pro, (which ive had and love but returned because of the bending issue) just to use this feature..
 
Great...so apple steal a great idea app (duet) and kill it. While I am sure that sidecar will work well, duet lets me use the ipad as a screen on both my macs and PCs. Can't see them offering a sidecar PC app and it surely will end the development of third party apps.

I don't see why I should have to pay a subscription to Duet to get all of that apps functionality if Apple can offer me the same or better for free between my Mac and iPad.

My other half uses the subscription based connection between his Surface Pro and iPad Pro and he loves it, so this implementation isn't going to kill the app off completely. It will just make it easier for people like me to enjoy functionality I couldn't otherwise afford.
 
Amazing that almost 24 hours later, there still don't seem to be any decent videos demonstrating the Sidecar functionality, video with pervy desktop linked to above included.

Show me the pref pane, demonstrate dragging windows and palettes back and forth, show me what happens when you lock the iPad when it is in Sidecar mode, etc. The tappy tapping with an Apple Pencil is great and all, but I'm guessing a vast majority of users will want Sidecar for use as an extra display.
 
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Finally. Goodbye Cintiq.

It's not a true Cintiq replacement for everyone. For example, you cannot hover the Apple pencil slightly above the screen, which means you cannot preview the effect of a brush before painting it in. AstroPad has a workaround for this, where preview mode can be activated by touching an icon with your finger. I don't see that in Sidecar. For most people Sidecar will be more than enough, but for some professionals it won't replace a real Cintiq.
 
Confirmed doesn't work without 6th generation Intel to encode HEVC. It will work if you disable SIP and edit things, but the image quality on older macs is poor. It's not a system limitation, it's a software one.

So if you have an older Mac, a Luna Fusion is still not obsolete. I'm personally am not getting rid of my late 2013 maxed out 15 until they build a macbook that doesn't suck. I refuse to give into greed. Can't wait to test this though on my new mini. If they build a decent macbook again, they can have my money.
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Amazing that almost 24 hours later, there still don't seem to be any decent videos demonstrating the Sidecar functionality, video with pervy desktop linked to above included.

Show me the pref pane, demonstrate dragging windows and palettes back and forth, show me what happens when you lock the iPad when it is in Sidecar mode, etc. The tappy tapping with an Apple Pencil is great and all, but I'm guessing a vast majority of users will want Sidecar for use as an extra display.


There are a few videos now, most of them from god awful tech reviewers who know nothing and don't know how to find answers to basic questions. There's also nothing yet on input lag cable versus wifi, and nothing but anecdotal text on the quality of pressure sensitivity in apps. I think that will be a few days.
 
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im hoping i can use 2 ipads to double side car.
duet, luna etc. dont allow multiples but its so much easier to work with 3 displays vs 2 for me
 
im hoping i can use 2 ipads to double side car.
duet, luna etc. dont allow multiples but its so much easier to work with 3 displays vs 2 for me

I too wish for this. There are two bottlenecks going against this. One is the HEVC encoding, which reduces bandwidth by up to 40%, but comes at the expenses of encoding power. I don't know if you can easily encode two 2k displays at once with HEVC on Macs and still get the 5Gbs plus on each connection to pull it off.

Secondly, 5Gbs (USB 3.0/Lightning) is about the minimum for a fluid experience at 30 frames a second. To get 60 you need thunderbolt and at least 15Gbs. I don't see two doing 60, but that's not really a problem for most. I have used DisplayLink, but only with USB 3.0.

I think the bring your own iPad monitors will be in future macbooks as a selling point, but I don't think it's possible now. There is a possibility a Luna display attachment makes this still possible. It will be interesting now to see if this will be completely worthless. It seems that for older macbooks it's still an option.
 
I don't see why I should have to pay a subscription to Duet to get all of that apps functionality if Apple can offer me the same or better for free between my Mac and iPad.

My other half uses the subscription based connection between his Surface Pro and iPad Pro and he loves it, so this implementation isn't going to kill the app off completely. It will just make it easier for people like me to enjoy functionality I couldn't otherwise afford.
Its not subscription based for 90% of users. The Pro features only are (which are more related to graphic artists)
Duet invented the idea(as far as I know), why should apple get to roll this into their software without paying royalties?
I refuse to pay subscriptions on principle personally.
 
Its not subscription based for 90% of users. The Pro features only are (which are more related to graphic artists)
Duet invented the idea(as far as I know), why should apple get to roll this into their software without paying royalties?
I refuse to pay subscriptions on principle personally.

What Apple and the Duet developers are doing behind the scenes is not my problem. I'm just saying that I am happy that Apple are introducing features that others charge for and making them free for Mac/iPad users.

I'm sure Apple will give* credit where it is due.
 
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Its not subscription based for 90% of users. The Pro features only are (which are more related to graphic artists)
Duet invented the idea(as far as I know), why should apple get to roll this into their software without paying royalties?
I refuse to pay subscriptions on principle personally.

It's way more than 90%, because VNC solutions already work well otherwise for free.

As for royalties, that's absurd. They can't patent breaking Apple's rules and using closed APIs because apple made a native solution that uses HEVC encoding. DisplayLink also has worked just fine for a while via USB.
 
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