How to Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor With Your Mac

The iPad is a versatile device. You can use it as a TV, a notebook, a sketchpad, a gaming console, or a laptop (with the right accessories). But one of its most underrated features is its ability to be used as a second monitor.

With Apple’s Sidecar technology, you can wirelessly pair your iPad to your Mac and freely drag apps and windows between both devices. You can also mirror your iPad display for presentations, watching TV, or sharing your screen. It’s simple to use, but the setup isn’t obvious. Here, I break down all the steps for turning on Sidecar and using an iPad as a second monitor.

Sidecar vs. Universal Control

Universal Control, which originally launched in macOS Monterey, allows you to interact between the iPad and Mac while sticking to their respective operating systems. The iPad continues to run iPadOS while the Mac runs macOS. The benefit is the ability to use a single keyboard, mouse, or trackpad to operate both the Mac and the iPad.

Sidecar, on the other hand, solely turns your iPad into a wireless secondary display. That means you’ll have to choose between using macOS or iPadOS. You can either extend the Mac operating system to your iPad or mirror the iPad to your Mac. You can use your mouse to drag apps and windows between devices, and your keyboard to type within those apps. But when mirroring, you can’t control the iPad via a mouse—you’ll have to use the touchscreen or Apple Pencil.

Are Your Devices Compatible?

Most Mac and iPad models support Sidecar, as far back as 2016, but here’s the compatibility just in case. Sidecar is available in the following iPad models running iPadOS 13 or later:

• iPad Pro (all models)
• iPad (6th generation or later)
• iPad Mini (5th generation or later)
• iPad Air (3rd generation or later)

For Mac, it works on the following models running macOS Catalina or later:

• MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
• MacBook (2016 or later)
• MacBook Air( 2018 or later)
• iMac (2017 or later)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
• iMac Pro
• Mac Mini (2018 or later)
• Mac Pro (2019)
• Mac Studio (2022 or later)

Check Your Settings

Once you’ve checked that your iPad and MacBook are compatible with Sidecar, you’ll want to look over your settings. First, make sure that both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. Then, enable Handoff on both machines.

On iPad

On an iPad, open the Settings app and then head to General > AirPlay & Continuity, and toggle on Handoff. On a Mac, open Settings > System Preferences > General and toggle on Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.

Double-check that you’re signed into the same Apple ID on the iPad and Mac by going to Settings > Apple Account (your name and picture). The email addresses should match up.

How to Turn On Sidecar

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Enabling Sidecar differs depending on the version of the macOS operating system you’re using. Here are your options:

• macOS Ventura or later: Go to Settings > Displays and click the “+” button. From the dropdown menu, select your iPad model.
• macOS Monterey: Go to System Preferences > Displays > Display Settings and select your iPad model.
• Earlier versions of macOS: Go to System Preferences > click Sidecar.

You can use this window to adjust the arrangement of your physical devices by dragging and dropping the icons accordingly. That way, it’s easier to navigate with your mouse and cursor across screens. For example, I keep my iPad to the left of my Studio Display, so I made sure that my iPad was placed on that side via the Settings.

You can turn on Sidecar through the Control Center (with macOS Big Sur or later) as well. In the right-hand corner of your screen, click on the Control Center icon, select Screen Mirroring, and then choose your iPad.

Extend or Mirror Your Display

When using Sidecar, you can either extend or mirror your display. You’ll only see the option to extend it via your Mac settings. If you’re using more than one external display, you can choose exactly which screen to extend or mirror the iPad to.

If you want the traditional experience of an external display, you should extend it. You’ll see your home screen on the iPad, with access to your dock, and you can freely move different apps and windows across both screens. I typically have my Chrome windows and tabs open on my Studio Display (connected to my MacBook Air), while Slack, Messages, and Spotify are on my iPad.

You can access iPadOS while extending the display whenever you need. Swipe up on the Touch Bar at the bottom of the screen, and it’ll bring you to your iPad’s home screen. When you want to switch back to Sidecar, tap on the app icon on the dock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Mirroring duplicates what’s on your iPad to your Mac. You’ll see the same content on both screens. This is useful when sharing your screen or streaming content to another device like your TV or external monitor. You can also enable Screen Mirroring right from your iPad by swiping down on the Control Center, tapping the Screen Mirroring icon, and then selecting your Mac.

How to Use Sidecar

If you’re extending the display, using Sidecar is fairly intuitive. It works the same way as a standard external monitor. You can drag windows between the display and the iPad using your cursor. If you’re using an app, you can click Window > Move Window to Mac or Window > Move to iPad, and it will move to the respective device.

You’ll notice the Side Bar on the side of the iPad. You can trigger different actions depending on the icon. You can use them to: hide or show the dock, show the onscreen keyboard, and use shortcuts like Shift, Control, Option, and Command. You can hide it by going to the Control Center on your Mac, clicking the Screen Mirror icon, and selecting Hide Side Bar.

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

You can show or hide the Touch Bar. It appears at the bottom of the screen and displays certain functions depending on the app you’re using. For example, if you’re typing, you’ll see the Emoji key and predictive text. If you open a new tab in your browser window, you’ll see a text box to type in the URL along with the back, forward, and home buttons.

If you’re mirroring the display, you can use the iPad as you normally would. It will recognise all the same gestures, like swipe, tap, scroll, and zoom. You can also navigate the screen with your Apple Pencil. If you have the second-generation Apple Pencil, you can enable double tap to trigger custom actions using certain apps.

How to Turn Off Sidecar

When you’re done using the iPad as a secondary display, you can turn it off via the Mac or iPad. If you’re extending the display, you’ll need to complete the following steps.

On a Mac, click on the Control Center, then click Screen Mirroring and deselect your iPad from the dropdown list. On the iPad, tap on the icon with a rectangle and diagonal line across it on the Touch Bar, then tap Disconnect. If you’re mirroring the display, swipe down on the Control Center on the iPad and tap Stop Mirroring.

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