Apple’s Universal Control vs Sidecar Explained

As of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, both currently in beta, Apple has introduced support for Universal Control, the long-awaited feature that's designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single mouse and keyboard. How is it different than Apple's other feature Sidecar? In this video, we go over everything you need to know about Universal Control.

[BlackWidowYT_FPS]

I am heavily invested in Apple ecosystem snd I can see myself using this feature. Best part is dragging files between devices, very handy.

[cidadaoPPT]

Whoever likes to act like they’ve been using it for years and how ridiculous it is that we’re excited about it … 90% of them are trolling and the remaining 10% are not worth your time. So in reality, 100% of them should just be ignored.

Love the content and I’m super excited with Universal Control! Can’t wait for it to be GA.

[JohnSmith-pnvl]

the thing is non apple ppl don't understand and always say things like this on similar features.
the difference is that when apple is doing it actually works effortless natively.
os and hardware changes will not destroy the workflow it is a feature oyu can rely on.
well....
i think this is revolutionary once ironed out, love it!

[spencereeves]

This is SO useful and a good glimpse of the future of how devices work together. Does dragging a file or something from once device to another work as well?

[Paul_Crosbie]

Really clear and concise explanation, very helpful!

[CAMTechChris]

I’ve been using UC since the betas were released last week. For me it’s an amazing feature and It definitely helps with the efficiency of my workflow.

[heartendesignstudio]

I am so excited for this update, as someone who is a designer/creative moving files between devices is going to help me SO much because airdrop for me doesn't always work and then I have to go play find the problem. lol.

[indethbed]

man im loving my first mac which i got a week ago. if apple products work for you, you can never go back.. such nice integration with my other apple devices. it is literally making me use my iphone and my ipad in a more productive way. gamechanger for me personally

[RubmaLione]

I think one of the main draws of this is that, not only is it built into the OS by default, but you can use ANY third party keyboard and mouse to do this. You don’t need to install third party apps or use third party devices, and it works between iPads and Macs.

[shoumikislam]

This is the typical move my random internet community on web. When Apple brings something, they work on usability and make it polished, not like they are innovating something new from the ground except a few, but they innovate usability/functionality. So, anything apple brings is compared to other existing systems, but people do not want to admit or hardly observe what kind of trade off is happening here. Apple will do anything to make a walled garden and they have been doing it for years. And they are successful in doing so. Users are happy because it works for them.

[alexandermalone]

Does it work with an external monitor?

[johnmillergubot]

As someone who uses iPad and MacBook for work, I am excited to have this feature in full version! Finally, no need for additional keyboard for iPad as I don't like to use multiple accessories while working. 😂

I can't risk using beta, since I only have one iPad and one Mac as main drivers and users say that it is not advisable to do it. Can't wait for this to be released soon! 😊

[ZyliceLiddell]

Can you control the Mac from your iPad without the Magic Keyboard or trackpad?

[Jacob]

Does the current beta for Universal Control wake the iPad/Mac from sleep should you push the cursor to their direction? I haven't seen this answered yet and I really wish this was the case. Thanks.

[TravisKale]

Great video! I appreciate the way you broke this down.

[xiaofengxie]

Does universal control work well with devices that have VPN? I have logitechflow enabled devices but they don't work with well with VPN.

[Mxy-ffzk]

when will this be available to include iPhone....

[bharathMAX]

Conceptually Speaking,
SIDECAR : is a Mirror Display Feature with a singular INPUT control option. Or Simply an external display but also NOT COMPROMISING the Native Functionality.
UNIVERSAL CONTROL: is a Limited Functionality but similar to the SIDECAR without Screen Mirroring but TWO OR MORE DEVICE 'CONTROL FEATURE' and FILE SHARING Without EXTENDING ONE TERMINAL DISPLAY TO OTHER and Vice Versa.
SIDECAR is Similar to Remote Desktop but without Minimum of TWO END's Processing/ Computational Power but With ONLY ONE PROCESSING POWER is Enough.

[andrix]

Will this be my solution for using my 5K 27" iMac as a monitor for my new M1 max MacBook Pro?

[tonmor]

My question is whether I can use Airplay and Universal Control at the same time.

For example, I want to mirror my iPad onto the Mac Mini’s monitor using AirPlay and then use the mouse connected to the Mac Mini to control iPad.

Will Universal Control let me do this?