The "Sidecar" feature appeared with macOS Catalina si iOS 13 / iPadOS 13, but on the new operating systems macOs Big Sur si iOS 14, Sidecar's capabilities have been greatly developed. We can say at the moment that Sidecar can transform iPad a display secondary for Mac, in which users can enjoy the experience touch screen si Apple Pencil in applications of graphics editing, text editing or Browsing.
How can we use the iPad as a monitor / display secondary for mac, iMac, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
First of all, you must have a iPad and a Mac Sidecar compatible, and both devices to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, Sidecar will not work if the two devices are on a mobile internet connection (4G, 5G) or remotely, via internet connection.
Sidecar compatible iPad models (can be used as a monitor extension for Mac)
- iPad Pro, all models
- iPad, from the 6th generation (2018) or a newer generation
- iPad mini, from the 5th generation (2019)
- iPad Air, 3rd generation (2019) or newer.
Models of Mac Sidecar compatible (support extension display on iPad)
- MacBook Pro, 2016 or later models
- MacBook, 2016 or later models
- MacBook Air, starting with the 2018 models
- iMac, model 2017 or newer
- iMac Retina 5K, 27 ″, model 2015 or newer
- iMac Pro, all models
- Mac mini, model 2018 or more recently
- Mac Pro, all models
Both Mac as well as the iPad must be updated to the latest operating system. At the moment, a good Sidecar experience is with iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.
The above conditions being met, activating iPad as an extension of display for Mac it's easier than you think.
1. We go to control Center in Menu Bar and click on the option from Display, where we will further select the available device. “Stealth's iPad" in our case.
2. Once connected the iPad that we use as display additionally, we have two options in which we can use it. Like a mirror displayfrom Mac (Mirror Built-in Retina Display) or as display separately (Use As Separate Display), where we can display and work on applications launched on the Mac.
Here's how the Sidecar result looks between a iMac and a iPad Pro:
The interesting part is that launching an application through Sidecar in the mode of display auxiliary (side as a separate display), you can use for the iPad both its smart keyboard, as well as the Mac keyboard and mouse.
The "Hide Sidebar" and "Hide Touch Bar" options in the Sidecar settings will leave more work space available on the iPad screen.
You only need the sidebar and touch bar if you choose to actually work in a Mac application, on displaythe iPad.
Many users say that Sidecar is not a very important feature and that it is little used. Maybe it's true for most users. In production, however, the expansion displayacquis Mac on the iPad is very useful for editing photos, videos, editing documents and much more.
