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All iPads iPad as primary Mac display - ideally wireless

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whyrichard

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 15, 2002
1,715
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Hello,

I am thinking of using an m4 Mac mini as an occasional portable workstation. In which case, it would be awesome to use my iPad as an external monitor for it.

I know about Luna Display, I use screens for remove desktop control from my iPad, I know about sidecar for a 2nd display using the iPad, but I am wondering what are the other / best options...

ideally, I would open an app on the iPad, which allows it to serve as a wireless PRIMARY monitor for my Mac. and ideally, without the reliance on WIFI networks.

Is that possible?
Is a usb C connection requires / necessary / best/

Thanks,
Richard
 
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If what you're talking about is bringing the Mac mini with you, I saw this a few months ago. Switch out the headless MacBook with a Mac mini, and I think you have what you’re looking for. Though, I don’t believe you can use your iPad's trackpad to control the Mac's cursor with Sidecar? You'll need a mouse connected directly to the Mac.

I played around with it a couple years ago when I had a Mac mini + iPad Pro M1. I was using all kinds of work arounds to get things working right. I eventually gave up and replaced them both with a MacBook Air. I missed the iPad, but needed a reliable setup.

You might be better off just keeping the Mac mini at home, ideally connected through ethernet and just remote connecting into it whenever you need to. The app, Jump Desktop is pretty popular.
 
CharlesShaw said:
There goes my Sunday, lol.
Click to expand...
with this method, you can use you iPad as a monitor but only in 1080p (16.9), not the full screen, and no touch or pencil (but audio works). Some use this method in order to then launch sidecar on the iPad (but if you want to use sidecar anyway you could just use remote desktop to launch it...)
Also Magic keyboard does not work at all
 
CharlesShaw said:
There goes my Sunday, lol.
Click to expand...
To each their own.

I think it’s better to get a portable monitor instead (nowadays they are not as expensive) doing the iPad-as-a-monitor method, you lose the ability to use iPadOS.

I bought a 4k 15-inch monitor for just under $170 with VESA compatibility over a year ago (have the option to use DeX with Android, plug it up to use Stage Manager with iPad Pro or maybe use MBP).
 
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Ludatyk said:
To each their own.

I think it’s better to get a portable monitor instead (nowadays they are not as expensive) doing the iPad-as-a-monitor method, you lose the ability to use iPadOS.

I bought a 4k 15-inch monitor for just under $170 with VESA compatibility over a year ago (have the option to use DeX with Android, plug it up to use Stage Manager with iPad Pro or maybe use MBP).
Click to expand...
I tend to agree for 2 reasons:
1. you need to power the Mac Mini anyway, so it's not a suitable on the go device, more like easy to move from place to place.
2. the iPad is small (13 if you use the whole screen, less than 12" if you use the solution mentioned in the video with 16.9 aspect ratio). Let alone the 11" model...

For use on the go a solution like remote desktop is probably the better option if you want to use the iPad.

Things are different however if you want a second screen, in that case the iPad is great, and can be better than a portable monitor, especially for a laptop as it can use its own battery and can work wirelessly (and support touch and pencil depending on the app you use)
 
If you want to do it without Wi-Fi, the only real option is a HDMI capture device plugged into the iPad. Here's an inexpensive one purported to work with iPad. The biggest limitations are that it's limited to 1920x1080 resolution and 16:9 ratio - so letterboxing on the iPad - and I assume it won't support HDCP content so streaming/playing videos may not work.

I agree with prior suggestions on "just get an external display" - bigger, more compatible, no letterboxing. But - for $20-ish ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the HDMI capture device should do the trick.
 
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