How to Use an iPad as a Nintendo Switch 2 Display

[MacRumors]

When you're away from home and want to play your Nintendo Switch 2 on a larger display, you can do so if you have a USB-C iPad. All you need is an app and a couple of accessories to get everything connected, as MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera demonstrates.

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To use this setup, you need a USB-C iPad that's able to run the latest version of iOS, and a Nintendo Switch. We're demonstrating with Nintendo's new Switch 2, but it also works with the original Switch, plus other Playstation and Xbox consoles.

Along with the iPad and the Switch 2, you need to pick up an HDMI cable and a video capture card dongle, which is easy to get on Amazon for around $20. Along with the hardware, you need to get an app that captures the video feed from your Switch and sends it to your iPad.

We tested Orion, which is free to use, but has a one-time $5 upgrade for extra features like 4K upscaling.

When you have all the components and the software, plug in the Switch 2 dock, then plug the HDMI cable into the dock. The other end of the HDMI cable connects to the video capture card, and the capture card's USB-C cable plugs into the iPad. From there, put the Switch 2 in the dock and power everything on.

You should see your Switch 2's display come up on the iPad, and you're ready to play. There is a little bit of input lag, but it's minimal. You may not want to play online shooters, but offline games should be fine.

Article Link: How to Use an iPad as a Nintendo Switch 2 Display

 

[dontwalkhand]

Isn't the entire point of a Nintendo Switch, is that you can undock it and it has a screen built in, so you shouldn't need an external screen like an iPad?

 

[Slix]

I like that this type of functionality exists now with iPads since as iPads age they start to become less useful for everyday tasks and are more suited for things like this. For anyone who is like "but the Switch has its own screen!", this works for anything, the Switch was just an example! Plug in your Raspberry Pi when you're at a restaurant getting a bite to eat.

 

[Nickerbocker]

I would imagine playing through a capture card would introduce a ton of lag.

 

[Surf760]

If I'm on the road and I have a dock and hdmi cable with me... why wouldn't I just plug into an actual TV and / or portable / external laptop monitor?!?

 

[Arislan]

Why? This needs the Switch 2 dock which completely defeats the purpose of it being easy to travel with. The screen on the Switch 2 is giant compared to the original so you really don't gain much going to an iPad screen. If the Switch 2 could output over USB-C without the dock and the iPad could digest it natively without a dongle, then this wouldn't be a bad idea. This is just a mess of cables that no one needs.

 

[firstcitazen]

Why? This needs the Switch 2 dock which completely defeats the purpose of it being easy to travel with. The screen on the Switch 2 is giant compared to the original so you really don't gain much going to an iPad screen. If the Switch 2 could output over USB-C without the dock and the iPad could digest it natively without a dongle, then this wouldn't be a bad idea. This is just a mess of cables that no one needs.

When I travel and have more limited space it's nice to know I have this option. Guessing it will also work with USB C monitors? I have a portable one that works great with my laptop

 

[displayblock]

I thought Orion was a WebKit browser

 

[edrozenberg]

All capture stuff introduces horrible and unacceptable amounts of lag. None of them work for any games that aren't just interactive slideshows. The dream of using existing iPads/iMacs/iAnything as a gaming display is no. Nope. Noway.

Get an ASUS or ViewSonic or Lenovo or LG or whatever portable display (1080p or hard-to-find 1440p) or a desktop 1440p display with 120 Hz or faster refresh (120/240/360/480). Watch out for non-standard resolution displays because some of them (like the ASUS portable 2560x1600) will not properly handle 1440p and will instead stretch the content to fit the display and butcher the aspect ratio and provide no settings to deal with this. Make sure whatever it is has HDMI input, some portable displays are USB-C only.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I thought Orion was a WebKit browser

same name, diffent sofware

 

[tweaknmod]

In answer to all the “but why?!” questions:

1. Some like a bigger screen but don’t have a TV in some circumstances
2. Because it’s fun to tinker!

 

[SanderEvers]

So a capture card for an iPad... That is going to add at least half a second of input lag, and well... the Switch 2 already has a screen. It's like connecint an iPhone to an iPad.

 

[relaxedpanda]

Sorta strange how you did the same exact video that AppleInsider already put out…

 

[stiligFox]

I would imagine playing through a capture card would introduce a ton of lag.

It depends on the game you’re playing and the quality of the capture card.

You could feasibly play something like Mario Odyssey or Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild or even Mario Kart with a good capture card like an Elgato - those games don’t rely on precise timing and the lag is usually minimal. I’ve done this before when streaming - playing the game off the OBS preview window instead of the direct capture.

However anything that requires precise timing (shooters, Fortnite, Splatoon) will suffer AND a cheap capture card will be abysmal.

 

[bob24]

Sure most iPad display have a better display than a switch 2, but they are nowhere near TV size and

In answer to all the “but why?!” questions:

1. Some like a bigger screen but don’t have a TV in some circumstances
2. Because it’s fun to tinker!

On your point number 1, I don’t quite see the circumstances. An iPad display marginally larger than the console’s but is nowhere near a TV experience and to work in docked mode as described here, to my knowledge the console requires external power meaning this setup kills the portability of both the switch and the iPad and won’t work on the go.

Obviously people can do whatever they like and if they like playing around with there devices there is no issue. But I really don’t see the use-case whereby tying yourself to a power source and connecting the power brick, the dock, the console, the HDMI cable, the capture card (which will introduce input lag) and the iPad together is a good trad-off and a better gaming experience vs just using the console in handheld mode.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Isn't the entire point of a Nintendo Switch, is that you can undock it and it has a screen built in, so you shouldn't need an external screen like an iPad?

The only point I see here it's to record the screen of your switch longer than 30 seconds

 

[Think|Different]

So a capture card for an iPad... That is going to add at least half a second of input lag, and well... the Switch 2 already has a screen. It's like connecint an iPhone to an iPad.

Not really. At all.

 

[klasma]

With an iPad mini, you would gain an astonishing 2.5 mm in width.

Even with a 13" iPad Pro, you only gain 52% in screen width.

Better get a portable screen like for example https://a.co/d/5OBMgDZ, which doubles the diagonal.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

This is just a mess of cables that no one needs.

This summarises Apple's situation with dongles and adapters for the last decade. Apple users are used to going to DongleTown with a bag full of cables!

 

[tweaknmod]

Sure most iPad display have a better display than a switch 2, but they are nowhere near TV size and


On your point number 1, I don’t quite see the circumstances. An iPad display marginally larger than the console’s but is nowhere near a TV experience and to work in docked mode as described here, to my knowledge the console requires external power meaning this setup kills the portability of both the switch and the iPad and won’t work on the go.

Obviously people can do whatever they like and if they like playing around with there devices there is no issue. But I really don’t see the use-case whereby tying yourself to a power source and connecting the power brick, the dock, the console, the HDMI cable, the capture card (which will introduce input lag) and the iPad together is a good trad-off and a better gaming experience vs just using the console in handheld mode.

Let’s say I’m travelling by train to my friends house for a few weeks. I’m bringing my Switch (and dock) so we can play together, but I’m not bringing a tv, cause he has one, of course.

A 13” screen, as opposed to 7.9” would be great to use on that long train ride from Toronto to Vancouver.

That’s one random situation I thought of in how this could be useful; I’m sure there are many more.

 

[foufoof]

Battle of the slowest displays.

 

[KaiserX]

I didn't care for Orion when I used it. It kept having mysterious flashes. However, I found Vidzik and use that. Also, Vidzik is allowed to install on Silicon Macs as well. I use it to feed my work's Dell laptop into my MacStudio via HDMI to USB-C. That way I can stay in my Mac the whole time and only have to switch over to the PC for VPN specific stuff. The video is fine, I use it for Teams everyday - no lag - not that video conferencing matters that much for that anyway.

 

[frownface]

this seems quite redundant? once you factor in the black bars, a 10" ipad screen isn't going to be much bigger than a 8" switch screen.

 

[JosephAW]

What!?! No Switch 2 emulator options?

 

[AppleTO]

It would be neat if you could just natively do video in via USB-C like those cheap slim monitors from Amazon. Obviously Apple could do this, but they won’t. A capture card would just add a ton of latency.