Use your iPad as a Mac Mini monitor - unleash ultimate portability

Can you use your iPad as the monitor for your Mac Mini? YES! In this video, I'll show you how to set it up.

You can bring your Mac Mini wherever you go and have access to a full Operating System - as well as the ability to run Windows and Linux VMs on the Mac Mini and use the screen of your iPad as the monitor.

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[DOGroove]

This is a great solution for me since I’m a professional musician who uses iPad in Portrait to read sheet music and my home computer is a Mac Mini for Logic and MuseScore. This would let me use my iPad as my Mac Mini monitor when I’m teaching lessons outside of my home and need to use programs that aren’t on iOS.

[rasramo]

Trying to do this with my iPad and m2. External video source is selected l, but it’s not detecting Mac mini.

[Yuna-wcdt]

This is literally amazing, i’ve been searching all over the internet and youtube how to connect my mac mini to my ipad without paying for apps ! Thank you so much sir very helpful, as a mobile dj with a mac mini i’ll be able to use a powerful device without bringing a huge tv monitor with me

[Part_]

This is a great tip! The only real surprise for me is why, in 2024, Apple hasn't realized they need to do this natively.

[privatename]

That is the coolest thing I learned this month. Thanks.

[max_tube]

Yam Display app is more than enough

My stuff in road:
- Mac mini
- USB to Lightning cord
- iPad
- Ecoflow River 2
- Keyboard Prestigio Click&Touch 2

[guycortesi]

I’m looking forward to the new Mac Mini, which is expected very soon (late Oct 2024), which will be extremely portable so this can be even easier to do.

[Ded-Ede]

Actually this how I Mac compute and I love it. I use my iPad Pro as the main and only display for my headless M1 Mac mini with wireless sidecar via VNC. I wish Apple made this an easier out of the box connection. For example, a simple solution would be in Mission Control on the iPad Pro, I should be able to tap Screen Mirroring and “PULL” the Mac mini “screen” to my iPad if it’s on the same iCloud account and network. To start using my current setup, first I had to connect my Mac mini to my HDMI TV since I don’t have a monitor and I had to connect a mouse and a keyboard, but once set up to do all the necessary setup, I no longer need the mouse, keyboard or display to operate my Mac. I just launch VNC on my iPad Pro, type in my password and my Mac mini display shows up on my iPad and I can do all my my computing I need to. Luckily i don’t need to do anything pro and require fine touch point editing, the Mac is better at batch processing and batch editing like adding tags in the photo app and file management. Also, some BitTorrent archiving and backing-up to my personal iCloud.
I wouldn’t mind if to get MacOS on the iPad Pro, Apple choose this route, wired or wireless as A Main use case instead of only as an alternate use case as it is now. Give us faster 1:1 response time. When connected, the Mac OS and the iPadOS merge into one cohesive experience instead of a mirroring experience, doubling the processing while exchanging data, in a synchronize experience. I’m sure this is hard to do because a risk of data loss for unexpected Disconnection either wire or Wireless. But I’m sure Apple can make it a great user experience and they will get the sale of a Mac computer like the Mac mini or the Mac studio or whatever and the sale of iPad Pro for people who want to compute this way. An individual Mac experience as it is now, an individual iPadOS experience as it is now, and a new unique combine computing experience for those who want macOS on iPad Pro hardware. I’ve suggested this use case in Apple feedback for years, but it seems to be falling in deaf ears, so I guess the more people who request this type of computing experience of a combine macOS and iPad hardware experience would have to file their own feedback suggestion also.
My Mac mini is pretty much in one location at home because it connected to multiple external hard drives but I can use my iPad Pro wirelessly to Mac computer. But I like your solutions with the HDMI connection dongle, the wireless mouse and the Bluetooth keyboard. Whenever I get a new Mac mini with more internal hard drive space I’ll be able to eliminate the external hard drives and I will have more flexibility of a portable Mac mini all self-contained that I can physically connect to my iPad Pro and I have even greater best of both worlds of macOS and iPadOS and portability.

[anabs_wrenandrita]

This is fantastic! I honestly never thought of my Mac mini as portable!

[JoelGorostieta]

I got a 2018 ipad pro to use as a laptop while im saving for an m1 macbook. I got an ipad because I can still use it after I get my macbook. I cant wait to use use it as a second screen!

[MarkHaley-hd]

This was fantastic and worked perfectly. Thank you for making this. I changed the resolution on the Mac mini to make it larger, but haven’t found a perfect solution to getting rid of black border in cameo.

[EmanueleDiBacco]

Thanks! I was wondering what's the deal here?...
What's the difference between using this setup and using another display?

[lyle_]

My man. Thank you! I finally have use for my iPad. Love the Mac mini but hate always being confined to one spot, and I really don’t want to fork out MacBook money.

[joerama]

TY! Your solution is great for when a monitor fails (or gets fiddly) and you need backup. But it’s even better for headless Mac Mini (or Studio) setup and maintenance. Furthermore, this is great to make Mac Mini/Studio travel-worthy… without some (huge or fiddly mini) monitor. I already have an iPad so using it makes all the sense in the world, and reduces extra gear (like buying/carrying a monitor just to get a headless computer running). Thank you!

[WXyzaa]

4:38 it’s not quite full screen can you use it in 4:3 aspect ratio?

[redouaneamokrane]

Hi! Thks for your vidéo. Would it simply work with TB3 câble?

[tejasraman]

That’s a great use of a Mini! I like laptops but this is a pretty good pen/touch Mac (Macbooks with touch/pen don’t really exist in any official capacity)

[GlennStormOfSwordsHarrington]

Great video and solution. I have a new mac mini and older Lightning iPad so I need a USB-3 HDMI input adapter with Lightning connector. Having trouble locating one. Any suggestions where I might look. Thanks.

[mrjeffjob]

AstroPad is a wireless device that plugs into a USB-C port on my mini and it works great. You first load a free app on the mini, open it, open the app on your iPad and it automatically detects it and done! I just got it last week to turn my 2017 iMac into a primary screen for the mini when I’m at home. So with one tiny device I saved my beautiful 27” screen from oblivion and have both an iPad AND a MacOS screen for the mini. Mac Continuity automatically shares the keyboard and mouse across devices also without wires.

$79 one time price and no subscriptions. Very cost effective and efficient powerhouse flexible system! 😊🎉

[aYt]

Thx! Already had an ipad and was planning to buy a macbook, but thx to this i think i can replace the macbook with mac mini instead!