Luna Display Introduces Mac-to-Mac Mode Allowing Nearly Any Mac to Be Used as Secondary Display

[Remy149]

10 years ago I would have agreed, but I don’t believe anymore Apple’s will is to deliver the best.
The Apple we all knew would never have released a software inferior at launch compared to alternatives developed by software houses with 1/1000 of the resources Apple have.

And the same applies to hardware: as I stated in another thread, besides the iPhones the rest of the product lineups are full of “premium” devices with stupid trade-offs and limitations, with the only logical reason behind being a will to keep customers in a neverending upgrade cycle which benefits no one but Apple itself.

You want a MacBook? Get ready for awful keyboards, graphics and thermals. Want an iPad Pro ? Sure, we give you the best, but don’t put it in your backpack or it will bend. Want a Pro desktop? Sure, but you can’t upgrade it, got to buy a whole new one.

You say all this meanwhile I don’t own a single apple product I’m dissatisfied with at the current time

 

[badatusernames]

Will this work with the 2015 5K iMac?

Yes it does.

[automerge]1571340110[/automerge]

Yes it does.

Also, no sound.

 

[konqerror]

Yeah I don’t see how it could drive a 5k display over WiFi. Only some newer Macs can even drive 5k wired, right? Maybe if they bring it down to 1080p or something.

The dongle tricks the computer into thinking it's got a monitor attached. The video thus is GPU-accelerated and read back and compressed via hardware. The lag is far better than VNC. VNC is the worst of the remote desktop protocols because it doesn't support any modern compression, nor is it integrated into the windowing system like RDP.

You can't even get 1080p60 over Wi-Fi without compression because that takes more than 3.7 Gbps uncompressed.

 

[tlnargi]

The next test will to see if this works with a second mac and an iPad at the same time.

 

[Focusx0131]

When Sidecar was announced I thought it’ll be the death of Astropad, but Apple’s lack of insight on what some Sidecar users will need played in favour of the little company.

Amongst the most notably lacking features there are:

-Pencil pressure sensitivity settings
-Customisable shortcuts
-Full on-screen keyboard
-Full touch support

All of those are fundamental features for a digital artist working on iPads, and them missing on Sidecar is a clear indication that Apple made this app not with artists in mind, as I was hoping ( which would have been an earthquake in the world of digital art).
Again Apple demonstrates there’s no visionary at the steering wheel, just a sad bean counter...

It’s tough for them to make a great app because if they do 3rd party devs will wave the anti-competitive flag. I think it’s spurs competition because little devs can fill in functionality gaps and be rewarded for doing so as seen in the article. Users can have the choice for a free native solution or pay for a more robust solution. Sounds like a win-win-win

 

[klatox]

They should make it compatible with Windows so that I can use my 2015 iMac (currently gathering dust under my desk) as a monitor for my gaming machine. 😵

 

[imola.zhp]

Why would anyone choose this over the built in screen sharing app?

I have Luna, bought it about 2 months ago when I bought my iPad Pro. It worked ok-ish for a week or two but now it says I have to connect via USB. Uh.... The point was to do it over wifi, so now I just use a VNC viewer app from iPad Pro or my iPhone to control our headless mac mini.

I keep meaning to list the Luna on eBay.

 

[Kinotto]

You forgot...pricing.😛

MacOs is still by far the best OS though, it's a shame though they removed Target Display Mode.
I agree to some extent, thing is, Macs do seem to get better lately, maybe Apple was preoccupied with the spaceship.
Shame prices went up substantially in the last few years.
There's no better phone than the iPhone, you won't find the integration with other Apple devices with other brands.
Concerning hardware, try to find a trackpad on other OS's that work half as good as Apple trackpads, it's the gold standard, no-one ever came close to it.

I agree with all you say, Apple devices do shine in some areas ( screens, trackpads, OS ) and for this reason I am still an Apple user.
My complaint is for the lacking features that were lost in recent years for no apparent reason

 

[Kinotto]

You say all this meanwhile I don’t own a single apple product I’m dissatisfied with at the current time

And I’m glad for you: in the end it’s all about finding the machine that allows you to do what you need to in an efficient way.
Personally I find many pluses in using Apple devices, and for this reason I’m still an Apple user, but like many others I don’t find their devices as reliable, well engineered and in general excellent as they used to, and many times the hardware( and sometimes the software) gets in my way rather than helping me doing what I need to.

 

[subjonas]

The dongle tricks the computer into thinking it's got a monitor attached. The video thus is GPU-accelerated and read back and compressed via hardware. The lag is far better than VNC. VNC is the worst of the remote desktop protocols because it doesn't support any modern compression, nor is it integrated into the windowing system like RDP.

You can't even get 1080p60 over Wi-Fi without compression because that takes more than 3.7 Gbps uncompressed.

It seems like you’re responding to my first post in this thread as well as the post you quoted, correct? (See below for the first post)
So, is there a remote desktop protocol that has any advantages over luna?

Yeah I can’t imagine how bad the small compressed resolution would look on a big 5k display. I really wish luna owners would post up some tests.

Edit- oops I missed the answer to my first question in the article.

Second question- If using a macbook as a mirrored display for a mac mini, how would this be different than using Remote Desktop software? Less lag?

 

[Rique]

10 years ago I would have agreed, but I don’t believe anymore Apple’s will is to deliver the best.
The Apple we all knew would never have released a software inferior at launch compared to alternatives developed by software houses with 1/1000 of the resources Apple have.

And the same applies to hardware: as I stated in another thread, besides the iPhones the rest of the product lineups are full of “premium” devices with stupid trade-offs and limitations, with the only logical reason behind being a will to keep customers in a neverending upgrade cycle which benefits no one but Apple itself.

You want a MacBook? Get ready for awful keyboards, graphics and thermals. Want an iPad Pro ? Sure, we give you the best, but don’t put it in your backpack or it will bend. Want a Pro desktop? Sure, but you can’t upgrade it, got to buy a whole new one.

I can't comment about the newer MacBooks, however my 2013 MBP is still the best computer (desktop or laptop) which I have ever owned, bar none. I bought it to replace an earlier vintage MBP which had been the best Mac I had ever owned (until this one). I grant the newer models might have some issues, but I love what I work with every day.

I won't comment on the Pro desktops either. That's a tough market - if the product is truly lacking, creative professionals will stay away. I'm going to see what the market decides on that one.

As for the iPad Pro, well my 2018 12.9" iPad Pro is the best iPad I've ever owned. It is the closest thing to a computer in a tablet format that Apple has ever done. As for carrying it around in a backpack? Yup, I take it with me whenever I go to the office or travel on business. No bends for me - I do take very good care of it, perhaps that is why - but I've gotta say, it's an excellent device, fun and fast - and has held up quite nicely.

Apple is by no means perfect, and there's a lot which could be improved, but speaking for myself, there is a lot of real-world, real-use evidence they still make some very nice stuff (love my series 2 watch, also).

Obviously, YMMV.

 

[Kinotto]

I can't comment about the newer MacBooks, however my 2013 MBP is still the best computer (desktop or laptop) which I have ever owned, bar none. I bought it to replace an earlier vintage MBP which had been the best Mac I had ever owned (until this one). I grant the newer models might have some issues, but I love what I work with every day.

I won't comment on the Pro desktops either. That's a tough market - if the product is truly lacking, creative professionals will stay away. I'm going to see what the market decides on that one.

As for the iPad Pro, well my 2018 12.9" iPad Pro is the best iPad I've ever owned. It is the closest thing to a computer in a tablet format that Apple has ever done. As for carrying it around in a backpack? Yup, I take it with me whenever I go to the office or travel on business. No bends for me - I do take very good care of it, perhaps that is why - but I've gotta say, it's an excellent device, fun and fast - and has held up quite nicely.

Apple is by no means perfect, and there's a lot which could be improved, but speaking for myself, there is a lot of real-world, real-use evidence they still make some very nice stuff (love my series 2 watch, also).

Obviously, YMMV.

Spot on on the Macbook Pro, and my fault for talking about 10 years: Up to the 2016 redesign MacBooks were the best computers you could own, never had an issue with them and the lucky guy I sold my 2013 model years ago tells me it still works perfectly.

Regarding the iPad Pro, I had any kind of issue with my 2015 and later 2017 models, so I tend to believe the talk about the 2018 models being fragile. There are many like you stating they had no issue with theirs, and I believe it’s true, but this doesn’t invalidate the reports of many other users which did have problems.

The whole point of my post was that years ago I would buy any Apple device with a light heart, knowing it would last me long and serve me reliably, while in recent years every purchase is a gamble, or a certainty that some key elements (keyboards in MacBooks, to take a known example) are not ideal and will compromise the experience of using such device.

 

[jimthing]

Anyone know anywhere this is for sale anywhere in the UK?

 

[kazmac]

This could be very handy and give my aging 2013 27" iMac some new life (I was sotl with Target mode > couldn't find adapters (Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 3)).

Could be handy IF I was sure I am buying another Mac. I am not sure about that.

 

[Sciencenerd]

Actually, I just got an email response from a representative: “Yes, Mac-to-Mac mode will work with 5k iMacs.”
I hope they are aware of the display-sharing problem particular to 5K iMacs.
I’m still not 100% sure why I can’t use my 5K iMac as a second display with my MacBook. - that’s a topic for another thread I guess.

 

[GoodWheaties]

This could be very handy and give my aging 2013 27" iMac some new life (I was sotl with Target mode > couldn't find adapters (Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 3)).

Could be handy IF I was sure I am buying another Mac. I am not sure about that.

The Apple Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter is what you want. Right on their website. Works with Thunderbolt 1 as well.

 

[kazmac]

Use tge

The Apple Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter is what you want. Right on their website. Works with Thunderbolt 1 as well.

Thank you 🙂

 

[alien3dx]

When Sidecar was announced I thought it’ll be the death of Astropad, but Apple’s lack of insight on what some Sidecar users will need played in favour of the little company.

Amongst the most notably lacking features there are:

-Pencil pressure sensitivity settings
-Customisable shortcuts
-Full on-screen keyboard
-Full touch support

All of those are fundamental features for a digital artist working on iPads, and them missing on Sidecar is a clear indication that Apple made this app not with artists in mind, as I was hoping ( which would have been an earthquake in the world of digital art).
Again Apple demonstrates there’s no visionary at the steering wheel, just a sad bean counter...

not for developer testing touch either.

 

[coolfactor]

I’m curious about the performance over the network.

I'm sure that, with a decent router, the performance will be fine.

And I'm guessing the dongle is just a licensing/authorization requirement, not for wireless communications?

 

[Apple blogger]

couldn’t someone already extend the display or use a Mac as the second display workout this?
I remember something like this being shown in one of the old presentations. Or was this the target feature written here?

 

[subjonas]

Well, I went ahead and ordered. I had been on the fence about getting a Luna for awhile, especially hesitant after the company left me hanging with an unusable astropad app, but they got me with this new mac-to-mac functionality and the discount. Also Sidecar isn’t supported on my aged hardware so until I upgrade hardware I don’t think I have a better option. Hope it works well.

 

[rodriguise]

The biggest issue I have with sidecar is the pencil requirement. With Luna I can still tap and use gestures, etc. The latest update seems to also improve performance considerably. I’m sure apple with catch up, but I’m frankly disappointed that it’s take them 2 or 3 tries to get anything close to right these days.

 

[ThirteenXIII]

can we quit calling them dongles and refer to them as adapters, which is what they do, adapt?
and why does it need network access? I can only imagine the lag with macOS and screen mirroring. AirPlay is somewhat usable but sometimes laggy.

 

[badsimian]

I am assuming the 5K iMac support won't be native resolution, will be interesting to see what resolution it is though and how bad it looks. I want to upgrade my 2011 iMac to a 5K one but my wife frequently uses target display mode with her 2014 MBP. This could solve that problem for me.

 

[tlnargi]

I am assuming the 5K iMac support won't be native resolution, will be interesting to see what resolution it is though and how bad it looks. I want to upgrade my 2011 iMac to a 5K one but my wife frequently uses target display mode with her 2014 MBP. This could solve that problem for me.

They did say retina resolutions only worked on MacBooks for now.