Universal Control
The idea is simple enough: it allows you to use the keyboard and trackpad on a Mac to directly control an iPad, and even makes it simple to drag and drop content between those devices.
What made the demo so impressive is how easy and seamless it all seemed. In a classic Apple move, there was no setup required at all. The segment happened so fast that it even seemed (incorrectly, as it turns out) like the Mac was able to physically locate the iPad in space so it knew where to put the mouse pointer.
It can only be started from a Mac running Monterey. You cannot start dragging the pointer from an iPad towards a Mac – it only originates from macOS, and then you can move it around.
It seems to be iPad-only, which is too bad because it would be nice to be able to type directly into my iPhone.
While the feature was previewed at WWDC in June, it’s yet to make an official appearance in any developer beta of macOS Monterey or iPadOS 15, leading to speculation that the feature may be delayed to a future update to the operating systems. However, in the latest macOS Monterey beta released on August 11, Universal Control can be enabled and used between two Macs.
To enable it, users will need to follow the steps outlined in this GitHub post, which requires running a series of Terminal lines, altering system settings, and running commands to enable “Ensemble,” Apple’s internal codename for Universal Control.
Previously:
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Type2Phone allows typing from your Mac directly to the iPhone.
There are others apps, like KeyPad - Keyboard and Mouse, that do the same sort of thing.
@Peter Does Type2Phone still work with current OS versions? Haven’t been able to get it to pair lately.
@Sören I’ve used both Type2Phone and 1Keyboard in the past, but with current OS versions they both fail to pair. I’ll see if the developers have any suggestions. Universal Control sounds more capable, though.
> I’ve used both Type2Phone and 1Keyboard in the past, but with current OS versions they both fail to pair.
I tried before writing that (hadn't used it in months). Works from a Mac running Big Sur to an iPhone running an iOS 15 beta.
>Universal Control sounds more capable, though.
Absolutely. Best as I can tell, this is the first time you can somewhat "remotely" control an iOS/iPadOS screen.
