macOS Catalina's 'Sidecar' Feature for Turning the iPad Into a Second Display Limited to Newer Macs

[MacRumors]

Apple in macOS Catalina introduced a new feature called Sidecar, which is designed to turn an iPad into a second display for a Mac, either extending what's on the screen or mirroring the content.

Apple hasn't yet provided details on which devices will work with Sidecar, but developer Steve Troughton-Smith was able to find some details by digging into macOS Catalina's code.

As it turns out, Sidecar is limited to many of Apple's newer Macs, and the devices listed below will be able to use it.

[*]Late 2015 27" iMac or newer
[*]2017 iMac Pro
[*]Mid 2016 MacBook Pro or newer
[*]Late 2018 Mac mini or newer
[*]Late 2018 MacBook Air or newer
[*]Early 2016 MacBook or newer
[*]2019 Mac Pro

It's not clear if this is a complete list, but Troughton-Smith says a long list of older machines are blacklisted from taking advantage of the feature. Some older Macs that are not greenlit for Sidecar can still use the feature via the Terminal command provided by Troughton-Smith, but there's no complete list on exactly which older Macs the Terminal command works with.

Sidecar supports iMac 27" (Late 2015) or newer, MacBook Pro (2016) or newer, mac Mini (2018), Mac Pro (2019), MacBook Air (2018) , MacBook (Early 2016 or newer), and blacklists all the devices in the screenshot pic.twitter.com/DHNDyI98WV - Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) June 5, 2019

There's no word on whether all iPads will work with Sidecar, or if there will be limitations on that end as well. iPadOS, required for Sidecar, runs on The iPad Air 2 and later, the iPad mini 4 and later, the 5th-generation iPad and later, and all iPad Pro models.

The oldest of these iPads, the iPad mini 4 and the iPad Air 2, use A8 and A8X chips respectively, while the newer models all use more powerful chips.

Update: According to a MacRumors reader who has used the feature, Sidecar works well with the iPad Air 2, which means it should also work with all other iPads that are compatible with iOS 13.

Article Link: macOS Catalina's 'Sidecar' Feature for Turning the iPad Into a Second Display Limited to Newer Macs

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Aw, MAN!!

 

[ChazSch]

stop trying to force me to upgrade with all these cool feature.... damn it

 

[shenfrey]

I have just ordered a new MacBook Air, so that's lucky. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[otternonsense]

I imagine Duet Display and Luna Display folks are not very happy right now.

 

[HacKage]

Are there any hardware limitations for this, or are Apple just taking the piss?

The Mac Pro that you can go into the stores and buy right now isn't supported!

 

[maxfromdenmark]

how typical

 

[TheBuffather]

Is MacBookPro13,3 mid? I thought there was just one release of MBPs in 2016.

 

[AppleInLVX]

Well, that's disappointing. And to be honest, not surprizing. Put these two together and you get the kind of resigned, sad little apple geek that I'm sure Apple doesn't really want to have associated with them. Meh.

/resigned
//sad

 

[nerdAFK]

Typical Apple move.

It's not about performance.
If a 2018 MacBook Air can do it, how can any retina MacBook Pro not be about to do it performance wise??
Not to mention 2013 Mac Pro

 

[Dr. McKay]

Disappointing, very disappointing. My mid 2015 15 inch MB Pro is out, then. Don't tell me an i7 and a dedicated Radeon graphics card can't handle Sidecar...

 

[chfilm]

Damn another reason to start saving for the cheesegrater 2.0

 

[nicho]

Oh wow. That list is way more restrictive than the previously mooted 2014 or later desktops, 2015 or later laptops (ish).

 

[Techwatcher]

That cutoff is crazy. Anything that wasn't cut off for iPadOS/macOS Catalina should be able to run Sidecar...

 

[festeleft]

Are there any hardware limitations for this, or are Apple just taking the piss?

The Mac Pro that you can go into the stores and buy right now isn't supported!

Looks like, perhaps, it is limited to older Macs that have Retina displays.

 

[verniesgarden]

the supported machines are so random, an older MacBook but a newer but newer MacBook Air

 

[nicho]

If a 2018 MacBook Air can do it, how can any retina MacBook Pro not be about to do it performance wise??

If a 2016 MacBook can...

 

[DaveRivera]

Wonder if the version of Bluetooth is a factor

 

[BWhaler]

No surprise. And I think this is a good thing so Apple ensures there is minimal latency, etc. I'm really looking forward to the next OS releases; it sounds like Apple is focused and driving in the right direction again. (Butterfly keyboards aside.)

 

[Freida]

anyone tried it? Is there a latency delay or any drawbacks? Or is it seamless experience?

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I wonder if the T2 chip is responsible?

EDIT: It looks like it isn't. Thanks for clarifying, fellas.

 

[RevTEG]

I guess that means my 2015 MBP is a fossil. Not going to upgrade just for this feature when there’s other options available.

 

[PJWilkin]

The list looks very restricted, and almost as if they want to force you to upgrade
I seriously doubt it is any hardware limitation other than them maybe offloading things onto the T2 chip (which seems odd)

But as Duet and Luna work without any restrictions I suspect Apple has an ulterior motive

 

[npmacuser5]

Very innovative of Apple. Not just a second viewing screen. Interactive touch screen with Touch ID. Apple continues to integrate the best of the iPad into the MacOS without marginalizing either one. Thumbs up.

 

[raybo]

I imagine Duet Display and Luna Display folks are not very happy right now.

They can be still be useful if Apple doesn't allow pre-2016 Macs to use Sidecar. Also - they exclude the 2017 MacBook Air, treating it as if it's a 2015 - and it kind of is...