iPad Remote Desktop on iPad Air 2

[sviato]

Has anyone used remote desktop apps to access your Mac through the iPad Air 2? How well does it work and can you recommend a good app for it?

I'm interested in connecting to my MacBook Air and downloading files to AirDrop or upload to Google Drive so that I can access them on my iPad. For those with experience, how effective would this be? Ideally I'm looking to supplement iOS limitations by accessing OS X remotely.

 

[sviato]

C'mob someone has to have tried it

 

[scaredpoet]

I use RemoterVNC. It works pretty decently.

 

[bgib2610]

Jump

I use Jump. They always are quick to update when new iOS or form factors change.

 

[sonicrobby]

I use splashtop

 

[Rigby]

Jump Desktop works well for me (also supports RDP for Windows machines).

 

[rlantagne21]

I've been using Parallels Access for a little under a year and it has been fantastic. Lots of options, very simple to use. More or less it feels like your just running OS X on your iPad. Was well worth the $15 I paid for the app.

 

[Max Your Macs]

I've been using Parallels Access for a little under a year and it has been fantastic. Lots of options, very simple to use. More or less it feels like your just running OS X on your iPad. Was well worth the $15 I paid for the app.

+1 for Parallels Access.

I have tried quite a few similar apps and Splashtop is also great. We use if for supporting our clients' machines remotely but accessing my own Mac, Parallels is perfect. The options of using your desktop apps like iOS apps or accessing your desktop in either mode is a huge plus. The latency is very minimal even on most all connections that I have found and well worth the money.

 

[februarian]

Splashtop leaves nothing left to be desired in my experience!

 

[mcdj]

I use Screens and I like it very much. No subscriptions. No in app upgrades. Use it anywhere any time. Doesn't hijack sound on the Mac.

 

[Rigby]

I think it's worth mentioning that Splashtop uses a proprietary protocol. This has pros and cons: On one hand it has superior quality for streaming video remotely than VNC, on the other it requires installation of their proprietary software on the computer that you want to access remotely (which is not available for Linux, BTW). I have no experience with Parallels Access, but I think it also uses a proprietary protocol. If you only want to access your own computer, that is of course not an issue.

VNC, on the other hand, is a widely used and platform-independent open protocol and is supported by Mac OS and many Linux distributions out of the box, and opensource servers are available for Windows. RDP is integrated in many Windows versions. Some iOS clients (such as Remoter and Jump) support VNC/RDP through an SSH tunnel, which can be valuable e.g. for system admins.

 

[sviato]

Thanks for the replies. Parallels Access looks very good - will give it a try!

 

[ReallyNiceGuy]

I have Splashtop and Parallels Access. I agree that Parallels Access is an excellent remote app.

 

[bgro]

I've been using Parallels Access for a little under a year and it has been fantastic. Lots of options, very simple to use. More or less it feels like your just running OS X on your iPad. Was well worth the $15 I paid for the app.

I use Parallels Access too and love it. Previously used Logmein and Parallels is much better imo. Feels like it's built specifically for iPad (which it might be).