You don’t need to connect your iPad to your Mac with a cable to use Sidecar, but you do need to be signed in with the same Apple ID on both devices. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Displays in the sidebar.
iPad extend to monitor
The iPad simply doesn’t have the GPU horsepower to drive two separate displays like you’re accustomed to on a desktop. (IMO), this is a productivity boosting feature, but I’ve found that no matter how I slice it, a moderately sized MacBook Air M1/M2 is far more efficient when working with resource intensive apps like Excel or coding and an iPad on the lower end covers my daily needs.
Connect iPad to a display with a cable
To use Stage Manager, place your iPad in landscape orientation, connect it to an external display, open Control Center, then tap . For more information, see Move, resize, and organize windows with Stage Manager on iPad.
Stacked Dual Monitors with Stage Manager on iPadOS 16
When connecting an iPad Pro or iPad Air to an external monitor, there will no longer be a black border on either side, overturning the previous limitation of only mirroring the external display, making full use of all display areas and the dual-screens independent operation.
Dual Display: How to Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor on Any Computer
Two monitors are better than one, and with a Mac running macOS Catalina or later, you can turn your iPad into a second display with Sidecar, which allows your computer to talk with your tablet and extend the same desktop environment. You can extend or mirror your Mac’s display, show or hide the Sidebar and Touch Bar that appear on the iPad, or disconnect your tablet. If your Mac or iPad isn’t supported by Sidecar—or you’re a Windows and Android user—Splashtop Wired XDisplay is a third-party app that can turn your tablet into a second monitor. There is some noticeable latency, and I did have some trouble with it getting stuck in Mirrored Mode on one of my computers, but for the price of free, it’s worth a shot.
(The $7 Android app has more mixed reviews, and if you’re going to pay money, I think it’s worth shelling out a few more and using our paid recommendation, Duet Display, below.) You’re free to test out the service for 10 minutes at a time, but for longer usage (or additional features like wireless connections) you will need to subscribe to a tiered pricing plan. Finally, click the Duet Display icon on your PC to gain access to a few other settings, like the frame rate and resolution your tablet uses. For me, the default settings worked great, but if you find it’s being a bit sluggish on an older laptop, lowering the resolution, frame rate, or power usage from this window may help.
iPadOS 16 Hands-On: Monitor Multitasking Takes Steps Forward and Sideways
iPadOS 16 introduces a feature I’ve wanted on iPads for years: truer multiwindow multitasking, and real external monitor support for extended workspaces. A public beta preview of the software is available now (which I wouldn’t recommend installing on your everyday personal device). Stage Manager, which enables these extra multitasking perks, brings a whole new layout that’s also extremely alien-feeling. As iPadOS drifts between iPhone and Mac, picking up more parts of each and blending them, the pieces don’t always make sense. Apps can be opened on the monitor, or on the iPad, and the mouse or trackpad cursor will just move back and forth like on a monitor-connected Mac. I don’t think Apple’s new Stage Manager changes things much for people working directly on an iPad (see below), but wow, it opens up possibilities if you have a monitor nearby.
Using an iPad Air with Magic Keyboard attached, I just perched it in front of my Dell monitor and felt it become a two-screen device at last. In a new Settings feature for Displays, you can also choose to mirror your iPad the way iPadOS only allowed previously (who wants that?). Windows can squish and stretch and go horizontal or vertical, but Apple limits the sizes and shapes.
And then there’s that three-dot icon above windows, which still handles app zooming, split-screening and minimizing just like iPadOS 15. Just when I started feeling like I was slipping into a Mac flow, iPadOS throws me into an uncanny valley again. I try launching Batman Returns on Apple TV to watch while I write this, and it automatically plays on the monitor instead of my iPad screen.
And then when I try shifting Pages from the monitor to the iPad screen (which is done via that very small three-dot icon at the top of each window, which now has a menu that vaguely says “move to display”), the app suddenly goes blank and I have to force quit it. iPadOS 16 has most of iOS 16’s greatest hits, minus that cool new customizable Lock Screen feature. There are more integrated ways to share docs and group-collaborate through Messages, or FaceTime, extending what was started last year. Apple’s promising collaborative white board app, called Freeform, isn’t in the public beta yet but is expected this fall. I still don’t recommend downloading a public OS beta from Apple on your main device, because too many strange and bad things can happen. I just wish the whole Stage Manager process made more sense and allowed for far more fluid or flexible window placement and screen-jumping, because right now it feels much like a beta feature.
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