Thursday, November 15, 2018

Using an iPad as a Mac mini Display

Luna Display (MacRumors):

To bring our idea to life, we used Luna Display — hardware that turns the iPad into a second display for your Mac. Luna works over WiFi, so you can wirelessly connect your Mac and iPad into one workspace. We were curious to see if Luna could also turn the iPad into the primary display for Mac Mini.

Our initial thought when we got Luna up and running with the Mac Mini was “this is like a whole new Apple product!” It really felt like that. In many ways, it was so obvious and second-nature to use the iPad as your main display. The iPad Pro has such a large and beautiful screen, that of course you’d want to find a way to use it in your workflow.

[…]

This setup truly combines the best of both Mac and iPad, with the processing power of the Mac Mini and the edge-to-edge retina display of the iPad. Using Luna, we’re able to take full advantage of every pixel on the iPad at full retina resolution. It offers more ways to interact with your macOS too, where you can seamlessly flow from mouse, to keyboard, to Apple Pencil, to touch interactions. And since Luna runs over WiFi, you have the flexibility of a completely wireless workspace. It all just works.

Previously: Portable External MacBook Pro Displays.

Update (2018-12-10): See also: Julio Ojeda-Zapata.

Update (2019-01-01): TJ Luoma:

Here’s my “Executive Summary” review: using the Luna Display with my 12.9" iPad Pro feels almost as if I am using macOS as a native iOS app. The speed and responsiveness are great, and it’s straightforward to use. However, there are some important caveats, especially if you are using a smaller iPad or if you are not using the iPad as a second display for your Mac.

Update (2019-01-23): Dr. Drang:

Because my iPad was acting as a Mac display, I was viewing the photos through Mac software, and none of the software I tried—while perfectly fine when run directly on the Mac itself—felt right when run indirectly on the iPad.

4 Comments RSS · Twitter

I do not understand why the company will only ship it to 3 countries (US, Canada, Japan) and the EU. I’m in Australia so it’s a no-go for me.

Yes, they do ship to Australia. At least, they do now!

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