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Universal Control vs. Sidecar: What's the Difference?
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Apple did a great job on this. It is much easier to use than sidecar. With sidecar I can feel the slight latency which I don't care for. There is absolutely no latency with universal control. I don't think this feature will get old for me. It is great for those of us with a bunch of Macs since we can use them at the same time. I think it is more compelling between a Mac desktop and Mac laptop though. Mac to iPad feels a little less useful, but I'll need more time with it to see if drag and drop creates interesting new workflows. Unlike sidecar, all I need to do is set the laptop on the stand next to my iMac and it magically works.
One is a remote with too many buttons. The other is a janky sled next to a motorbike. Neither are very cool, but they're both pretty useful
Anyone noticed that with Universal Control active (in use) the wifi menu never shows other wifi networks, beyond personal hotspots?
For me, I have to disconnect UC for other wifi networks to appear.
For me, I have to disconnect UC for other wifi networks to appear.
The article states that you can use Sidecar and Universal Control at the same time (using 2 iPads + a Mac). But when I try this the Universal Control iPad disconnects the iPad used for Sidecar. And if I try to connect the 2nd iPad to Universal Control while the 1st iPad is used for Sidecar, it disconnects the Sidecar iPad. Has anyone had success with using an iPad for Sidecar and a 2nd iPad for Universal Control with a Mac at the same time?
Exactly. This is where things get interesting: combining the two OSes into a single, multi-OS-capable workflow. Really opens things up to some interesting potentials.
I gotta get this in front of me. $#¡% I gotta get an iPad first! I’ve been hovering over the Buy button on a mini 6 for a bit, but that pesky March delivery date is deflating. I need to hit Buy and get it before I come to my senses! Hitting Buy today, and not seeing it deliver for over a month, runs the risk of a cancelled order - and no one wants that. 😜
Technically interesting, for sure. But it seems like a rather niche feature. I suspect the majority people will try it a few times and then forget about it completely.
Agree! Watching the content continue to evolve, Dan find his voice (don’t let your head get too big, “Mr. Famous in certain, perfectly sized, circles” ?), the overall production value, design & layout, etc - the team has done such a great job! Thanks for helping keep this an informed and vibrant community in which I frolic, daily - a truth I can say of no other site.
Cheers!
I think that is the more interesting use case. In the past I’ve used Synergy for just this (sorry folks - universal control is *not* a new idea!)
However, Synergy has the huge advantage that it is cross-platform and runs on older versions of MacOS, as well as Linux and Windows. Often, the whole reason that you want to use two machines side-by-side like that is that one is running a different OS. Synergy would be a great solution if you wanted to switch to Apple Silicon but keep your old mac around for Boot Camp or running non-M1 compatible software. I’m guessing that Universal Control might work with Parallels etc. but not Bootcamp, and, of course, needs everything running Monterey (which is often a bigger problem than M1 for old software).
People that don't realize how useful this feature is probably don't have any productivity needs. The iPad have really good apps that doesn't run on macOS. Developers can test apps and websites without having to change controls, artists can quickly move assets between creative softwares, you can actually leverage the computing power of two or more devices without having to think individually.
While Sidecar is very useful, it actually wastes a lot of energy since it's streaming high quality video only to extend macOS to a screen that is often too small for most desktop tasks.
While Sidecar is very useful, it actually wastes a lot of energy since it's streaming high quality video only to extend macOS to a screen that is often too small for most desktop tasks.
I think that is called "Mac OS" - AKA if you want desktop mode, get a MacBook Air.
However, I'm inclined to agree with Apple that it is better to keep the iPad a great handheld mobile device than turn it into a badly designed laptop. The design affordances for software are very different between a touch-operated handheld and a pointer/keyboard-driven laptop or desktop are huge. Apple don't seem interested in making a true "2 in 1" device with some sort of swivel/back-fold/whatever arrangement to let it be used in both "tablet" and "laptop" mode (...and, heck, those of us who used to lug PowerBook G3s around don't have a problem with carrying an iPad and a MacBook, nor do Apple have a problem selling us both!)
Where iPad/Mac interaction really seems to pay off is in applications that use the iPad as an iPad - e.g. pen-based graphics tablet (Sidecar and various third-party apps before that - an alternative to an expensive Wacom Cintique or suchlike) or things like "Logic remote" (great for mixing while sitting in the sweet spot between your HiFi speakers).
Synergy has been useful for that when cross-developing/testing for PC, Mac or Linux. Which, of course Universal Control can't help with.
For iOS - you can already do this using Safari for websites (or Chrome to do the same for Android). Then there's the iOS emulator in XCode for Apps. In all those cases you also get the advantage of all the debugging tools running side-by-side on the much larger Mac screen. However, where an iOS App makes good use of touch, gestures etc. (not to mention things like the accelerometer) you need really to test it "standalone" on the device.
Not rubbishing UC/Sidecar as ideas - but they're partly let down by Apple's refusal to acknowledge the existence of anything that isn't a Mac or an iDevice - especially for developers - which is where existing 3rd party solutions are better, even if they're not quite as slick.
Thought Universal Control might be interesting for render farming, but then you’d need a display for each Mac.
I can do the same thing, easier, using the built-in Remote Access. One keyboard, one mouse, one display.
And if it’s anything like Sidecar — the laggy, disconnecty uselessness (and there’s no reason to believe Apple’s programmers have gotten any better) — then it’ll just be another “Huh” to me.
And I then I’ll forget about it.
I can do the same thing, easier, using the built-in Remote Access. One keyboard, one mouse, one display.
And if it’s anything like Sidecar — the laggy, disconnecty uselessness (and there’s no reason to believe Apple’s programmers have gotten any better) — then it’ll just be another “Huh” to me.
And I then I’ll forget about it.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it does. Unless I’m missing something, I don’t think you can cross-navigate that way.
"Universal Control Explained" lol. Not really.
What if one of the machines is a Mac mini? What if they aren't positioned in the simple side by side orientation as in every demo?
What if one of the machines is a Mac mini? What if they aren't positioned in the simple side by side orientation as in every demo?
Having just bought synergy… I feel like this will be better… ?
However, do you know if all devices have to be on the M1 architecture or does it support Intel Mac’s too?
However, do you know if all devices have to be on the M1 architecture or does it support Intel Mac’s too?
I’m sure it will work the same… on M1 Mac mini’s… but I’d love to hear this answer confirmed too!
I think the OP suggested they had to be 30ft around each other suggesting the limitation to be Bluetooth related. Unlike synergy which uses network protocols, some of the handshaking (like security for handoff or consensus among Siri requests) happen through Bluetooth.
However, I am uncertain.
would be better if both would be combined into 1 control app with toggle features to enable or disable
not really into differentiating between to similar apps - too much overhead
not really into differentiating between to similar apps - too much overhead
I use UC from my Mac Mini and with my IPad Pro. You set up, on the Display option, where you want your iPad screen to be in relation to your Mac Mini monitor, and when you cross the edge, it pops on over to the iPad. It works pretty flawlessly and is a feature that will always be on for me.
I’ve been using SC with my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro.
That’s exactly what Sidecar does not allow you to do. Sidecar is just a monitor for the Mac, you are still using macOS. What you describe is Universal Control: move a PDF file to an iPad, draw on it with an Apple Pencil, move it back to the Mac. (and yes, you can do the same by opening a PDF file from iCloud on the iPad, draw on it, save it, open it on a Mac).