Astropad's New 'Slate' App Lets You Control Your Mac With Your iPad and Apple Pencil

[spinedoc77]

Thanks for reminding me of this:

@spinedoc77 this is for you too

Yep and he was wrong, NO ONE uses their laptop like that with the arm outstretched all the way out. And FYI yes I am an expert who has treated hundreds and hundreds of RSI patients over the years. The trackpad is what is an issue with RSI injuries, having your hand contorted all day long is an issue, worse IMO than using a mouse which has its own RSI injuries. I suppose if you are a moron like whoever's arm that was in the video, and you use your arm fully outstretched like that for hours at a time you deserve the arm and shoulder chronic injuries you will incur.

Again, no one uses their arm outstretched like that, it's like the other inane myth that people use their iPads standing up at arm's length. Touch on a laptop is simply meant as something to be used IN CONJUNCTION with your trackpad/mouse, not exclusively. Although on something which can lay flat, and/or be nearer to the user you could use touch exclusively very easily, in fact it takes away a layer of abstraction in that you are putting your finger on something versus abstracting to a mouse pointer. It's also more convenient sometimes to sit closer to your laptop, making touch a better choice than the trackpad, I think of my morning breakfast with my tablet where I can just use my finger to scroll and click through the news. But all of this goes away anyway when you consider 2-in-1s and tablets.

 

[AppliedVisual]

Flashback to 1990s tablet tech! I'm not sure why, I still have my 20-year-old usb-A Wacom tablet in the drawer and it probably still works.

I have several 20 year old Wacom tablets and they no longer work with current systems because Wacom is a sh!theel of a company that drops software support for their own older products.

This $20 app looks kinda handy, more functional than Apple's Sidecar. If you want full Wacom tablet level integration with the iPad, they have their Astropad Studio software, which gets you 90% of the way there to Wacom Cintiq functionality where you have full display on the iPad as well as your Mac and get pressure/tilt and customizations. But it's $79/year subscription. I played with Astropad Studio earlier in its beta and it showed some promise, but it just wasn't there at the time. I can say it looks to have matured greatly since then, but I have not tried the current version.

 

[phrehdd]

Why? If you could simply fold down your tablet flat isn't it the same thing minus having to carry around another full tablet? Just seems odd to me that people are using an iPad to make a laptop do...what an iPad does. I get the appeal of having a separate screen similar to purchasing a Wacom plug in drawing tablet, but does every consumer need this?

With AI popping up all over and in social content, it could be more than handy for some folks but talented and untalented to have such a tool. I think of it as a great addition for those retiring an iPad in favour of a newer model. Simply use the old one as a tablet if desired.

As for me, I find that the smaller iPads to be a good size to use as a tablet of this sort and also used as an extension of the Mac screen.

 

[JamieLannister]

Imagine working hard on something then finally releasing it - and an accompanying media release - only to see the comments full of people mocking your product, even though they are in no way the target audience, would never be interested in such a product, and don’t understand it - yet they feel the need to tell the world how useless they think it is.

It’s a niche product. If this isn’t for you, and you “don’t get it”, ask about it respectfully or just move on with your life, maybe?

The widespread acceptance of disrespectful comments by people who don’t realize/care that people who worked on this stuff read them will never stop frustrating me. And I refuse to stop calling it out when I see it.

To the team who launched this - and I know they’re monitoring these forums, cause I do that for a living: Congrats on the launch! Good luck 👍

Look at this guy...if you can't take ANY sort of vitriol, don't work in this business. So what if devs read these forums if they are so thin skinned and fold every time a comment pops up that's negative they shouldn't even try at all. There's going to be a ton negative comments in all products even apple products. To tell people to not voice anything is the most communist thing to do.

As for this product, I'd like a "demo" before I buy actually. It doesn't state if there are any pressure sensitive pen compatibility nor multi-finger gestures (rotating, panning, etc) nor any "angle" functionality of the pencil in the apps. $20 isn't too much but for the basics you can get a Wacom tablet for $45 that doesn't need the pencil to be charged at all.

 

[ChromeAce]

Useful to have in your lap to control a Mac being displayed on a Vision Pro.

 

[Tagbert]

Yep and he was wrong, NO ONE uses their laptop like that with the arm outstretched all the way out. And FYI yes I am an expert who has treated hundreds and hundreds of RSI patients over the years. The trackpad is what is an issue with RSI injuries, having your hand contorted all day long is an issue, worse IMO than using a mouse which has its own RSI injuries. I suppose if you are a moron like whoever's arm that was in the video, and you use your arm fully outstretched like that for hours at a time you deserve the arm and shoulder chronic injuries you will incur.

Again, no one uses their arm outstretched like that, it's like the other inane myth that people use their iPads standing up at arm's length. Touch on a laptop is simply meant as something to be used IN CONJUNCTION with your trackpad/mouse, not exclusively. Although on something which can lay flat, and/or be nearer to the user you could use touch exclusively very easily, in fact it takes away a layer of abstraction in that you are putting your finger on something versus abstracting to a mouse pointer. It's also more convenient sometimes to sit closer to your laptop, making touch a better choice than the trackpad, I think of my morning breakfast with my tablet where I can just use my finger to scroll and click through the news. But all of this goes away anyway when you consider 2-in-1s and tablets.

I agree. Touch, when present, does not need to be the only interaction mode. In most cases you have multiple options, touch, trackpad/mouse, pencil, keyboard. You can switch between them as needed. I also think that having different interaction modes and switching between them would make RSI less likely because you are not repeating the same movement as often.

 

[spinedoc77]

I agree. Touch, when present, does not need to be the only interaction mode. In most cases you have multiple options, touch, trackpad/mouse, pencil, keyboard. You can switch between them as needed. I also think that having different interaction modes and switching between them would make RSI less likely because you are not repeating the same movement as often.

Absolutely, that's the name of the game, multiple input methods and regularly switch between them. It's just with a trackpad you are stuck with that paradigm, and often you have your screen much closer than is healthy to be using it like when stuck on an airplane. I'm personally not a big fan of trackpads even for limited use, those fine movements repeated really add up quickly.

 

[MNGR]

I'd say.... because there are no touchscreen Macs

My Mac is in one room directly attached to my NAS.
I am in another room with iPad and iPhone.
Sounds like a good plan to me

 

[funwithstuff]

I’ve tried using Wacom tablets as trackpads (some support this, some don’t) and the main problem is that drag works differently, because there’s no way to detect a second level of pushing down on the thing. This app has the same issue, unfortunately. Instead of just pushing down harder and moving your finger to drag, you have to do something extra first.

Does anyone know of a good third-party external trackpad?

 

[H_D]

As someone who worked sind 2003 with Wacoms (love the Intros Pro, hate the Cintiqs) – this is a nice option for on the road. You have an iPad, a Pencil and your Laptop - and you have an impromptu Wacom-Style tool for retouching with more precision then with a mouse. Coupling it via USB it really worked quite nicely, WLAN is a mess. Gave it a shot on the mini and it works nicely even on that mini-display, so I reckon it will be even more fun on the iPad Pro. Will it replace the A4-Intuos? No way, especially as on the Wacom wireless really works without latency issues. But for 22€ this is a nice tool to have when editing images on the road. Quite frankly, it is a shame that a 3rd-party app has to come up with this, something as logical as this use case should be integrated by Apple. They just don't know what to do with the iPad ;-)

 

[SpringKid]

I bought the app, tried it together with Pixelmator on my iMac and immediately claimed (and got) a refund in the App Store.

Sure, it technically “works”, as in “I can control the cursor on my Mac from my iPad”, but it’s honestly practically useless. It’s very imprecise, and the latency is very high and fluctuates a lot, both in peer to peer and wifi mode.

Great idea, but it simply doesn’t work as advertised.

 

[cult hero]

Ive had several windows 2 in 1 and they have been amazing devices.... all surface devices and I still have a surface laptop.. (the Surface Laptop Go 2) and it was a replacement for my 2015 MacBook Retina.... Since Apple didn't make a compact laptop anymore I took the surface device... and except for the lack of a backlit keyboard 🧐 it's been an amazing replacement for that form factor... the touch screen does actually come in handy.

Apple’s position here is so lame. I know my work setup is probably a bit niche but the fact is, what I want is an iPad running macOS. When I’m working (programmer) I plug into my Thunderbolt dock and voila, desktop setup. Everything else? Tablet. When I’m on the road I’m either not working at all or on business trips it’s not code. It’s business planning/etc.

The people who want macOS and would go to the trouble of putting it on an iPad are not going to have problems here nor care about the “experience”. Everything about it is absolutely about selling two devices. Blah.

 

[O.N.Y.X]

$20 is an expensive buy, but I'm tempted. As a Product guy, this is great for drawing directly on screen for rapid prototyping and design demonstration.

I’d gladly pay $20 one time (not including major updates) instead of being locked into a $2-3 monthly subscription fee…

 

[SpringKid]

I’d gladly pay $20 one time (not including major updates) instead of being locked into a $2-3 monthly subscription fee…

Same here in theory, but at the same time I felt a bit cheated when I realized it just wasn’t good enough to be useable. I would even be really pissed off if I wouldn’t have gotten a refund.

 

[beanbaguk]

Same here in theory, but at the same time I felt a bit cheated when I realized it just wasn’t good enough to be useable. I would even be really pissed off if I wouldn’t have gotten a refund.

Indeed. Nothing wrong with the $20 price tag, but let the consumer try the product before charging them. Even if it's a 24 hour trial. Just some sense of trying it would be great.

 

[beanbaguk]

I’d gladly pay $20 one time (not including major updates) instead of being locked into a $2-3 monthly subscription fee…

There is nothing wrong with the price, but I would like to try it first. That ability is baked into the Apple App Store system, so they should offer some sort of short trial so we can ensure the product is satisfactory before parting with our money. I see no issue with that. $20 to try something that we possibly might not like is not a gamble I like to take.

 

[SpringKid]

There is nothing wrong with the price, but I would like to try it first. That ability is baked into the Apple App Store system, so they should offer some sort of short trial so we can ensure the product is satisfactory before parting with our money. I see no issue with that. $20 to try something that we possibly might not like is not a gamble I like to take.

Yes, it’s just silly that one needs to resort to asking for a refund when they just as well could have had a trial.

 

[O.N.Y.X]

Even if it's a 24 hour trial. Just some sense of trying it would be great.

I’d even suggest a 1-month trial in this case. Let the customer try all features, and embed it in their workflow. Purchase reminder popup one week before expiration.

 

[SpringKid]

I’d even suggest a 1-month trial in this case. Let the customer try all features, and embed it in their workflow. Purchase reminder popup one week before expiration.

Trust me, you don’t need more than five minutes to realize it’s not a feasible solution to embed in any workflow. Sad but true, I was really looking forward to use it with Pixelmator. It’s not even good enough to use as a normal trackpad for day to day use.

 

[O.N.Y.X]

Trust me, you don’t need more than five minutes to realize it’s not a feasible solution to embed in any workflow. Sad but true, I was really looking forward to use it with Pixelmator. It’s not even good enough to use as a normal trackpad for day to day use.

Ouch, how disappointing…

 

[SpringKid]

Ouch, how disappointing…

And I think it’s just as disappointing that there seems to be no proper reviews (preferably videos) of the app. I just see people praising it, or rather the idea of it and that it’s now been released, without having tested it for real.

 

[beanbaguk]

An update on my part. I did reach out to AstroPad and explained my issue about dropping $20 for a product that I could not first try.

They suggested that if I was dissatisfied, I could request a refund through the Apple Store, which, I suppose works, but I find this highly impractical.

What if my request is denied? And I've looked at the process, and it's a bit of a ball ache to complete. It's not designed for trialling software. It's designed to handle disputes.

I did suggest this to the customer support member, and told them a trial would be more practical and convenient as a user. (They offer a trial on their primary product, so why not this?!)

I'm not convinced, so I've decided I'll skip for now and search for alternative methods to do the same. If anyone see's a review, please share, as I'm still interested. I'm just not keen on gambling my money on something I have no hands-on experience with.

 

[SpringKid]

An update on my part. I did reach out to AstroPad and explained my issue about dropping $20 for a product that I could not first try.

They suggested that if I was dissatisfied, I could request a refund through the Apple Store, which, I suppose works, but I find this highly impractical.

What if my request is denied? And I've looked at the process, and it's a bit of a ball ache to complete. It's not designed for trialling software. It's designed to handle disputes.

I did suggest this to the customer support member, and told them a trial would be more practical and convenient as a user. (They offer a trial on their primary product, so why not this?!)

I'm not convinced, so I've decided I'll skip for now and search for alternative methods to do the same. If anyone see's a review, please share, as I'm still interested. I'm just not keen on gambling my money on something I have no hands-on experience with.

I requested and got a refund, it’s not hard at all to complete, takes less than a minute.

I just chose the reason “did not work as advertised”.

 

[amartinez1660]

What's the use case here?? "I have a tablet which is great for drawing, but I hate direct visual feedback and would instead prefer to use that tablet which is great for drawing as a slave device to a big monitor."

If that, why not just mirror the tablet's screen to a monitor?

And they have exactly that already too, Astropad Standard (non subscription one) and Astropad Studio (it kills me that it’s subscription based). It mirrors the image of the screen you want and has amazing pressure sensitivity calibration compared to side car.
I don’t know why they decided to make a no-image-feed one 🤔

Also, looks like there’s a missed opportunity here regarding Apple’s own Magic Trackpad? Couldn’t they just make the pencil work with the trackpad too?

 

[phrehdd]

And they have exactly that already too, Astropad Standard (non subscription one) and Astropad Studio (it kills me that it’s subscription based). It mirrors the image of the screen you want and has amazing pressure sensitivity calibration compared to side car.
I don’t know why they decided to make a no-image-feed one 🤔

Also, looks like there’s a missed opportunity here regarding Apple’s own Magic Trackpad? Couldn’t they just make the pencil work with the trackpad too?

Years ago I worked with both typical tablet and Cintiq. Each had their place but in the long run, I kept going back to a regular tablet for lot of work. Thus the iPad as a regular tablet is not a bad idea for repurposing older iPads or getting more use from them.

Elsewhere, I donate some time to do middle of the line digital photo restoration - I use neither for the work and in fact, often get by with just the Apple Magic Trackpad. However, I may yet adopt the practice of using the iPad as both extension of the screen and as a tablet.