Sidecar - Has anyone got it working?

[Brammy]

I think that’s just for Display Devices (iPhone being included). Did it actually work for you?

I ran it but Sidecar didn't show up in System Prefs so you may be correct.

 

[EugW]

What encoders do Duet Display and Luna Display use? What is the quality like, and how much lag is there? How much worse is WiFi vs wired? How much CPU usage is there?

It’s too bad compression has to be used for all iPads, considering the iPad Pros support USB 3.

In contrast, Target Display Mode on my 2010 iMac 1440p is non-compressed with no lag, via Mini-DisplayPort.

 

[TMRJIJ]

The reddit poster found another setting in the framework called hasShownPref. At a glance, it looks to me like patching is not a solution for most without a adhoc profile; just switching on the preferences.

defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool true; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool true; open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane

The Pref pane is now showing however my MBP late 2013 is not detecting my iPad Air 2. I don’t know yet whether or not the attempt failed or if my iPad is just bugging out since it’s constantly popping in and out of sync.

EDIT: Most likely a syncing bug from my Air 2

 

[EugW]

According to SideCarCore (terminal window:


cat /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SidecarCore.framework/Versions/A/SidecarCore

)

here are the models not supported:

iMac13,1iMac13,2iMac13,3iMac14,1iMac14,2iMac14,3iMac14,4iMac15,1iMac16,1iMac16,2MacBook8,1MacBookAir5,1MacBookAir5,2MacBookAir6,1MacBookAir6,2MacBookAir7,1MacBookAir7,2MacBookPro9,1MacBookPro9,2MacBookPro10,1MacBookPro10,2MacBookPro11,1MacBookPro11,2MacBookPro11,3MacBookPro11,4MacBookPro11,5MacBookPro12,1Macmini6,1Macmini6,2Macmini7,1MacPro5,1MacPro6

This should be able to be patched by editing and resigning

MacRumors claims the 2015 MacBook and 2013 Mac Pro are supported.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-controls-to-non-touch-bar-mac-users.2184457/

The Sidecar app is compatible with 2015 MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro and later, 2015 iMac and later, 2014 Mac mini or later, and 2013 Mac Pro or later.

If so, then it can’t be thru HEVC. Come to think of it, the A8/A8X don’t have hardware HEVC decode.

 

[tsialex]

MacRumors claims the 2015 MacBook and 2013 Mac Pro are supported.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-controls-to-non-touch-bar-mac-users.2184457/

The Sidecar app is compatible with 2015 MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro and later, 2015 iMac and later, 2014 Mac mini or later, and 2013 Mac Pro or later.

If so, then it can’t be thru HEVC. Come to think of it, the A8/A8X don’t have hardware HEVC decode.

MacRumors post is wrong as Catalina 19A471t, Sidecar framework blacklists all these Macs:

iMac	MacBook	MacBook Air	MacBook Pro	Mac mini	Mac Pro
iMac13,1, iMac13,2, iMac13,3	MacBook8,1	MacBookAir5,1, MacBookAir5,2	MacBookPro9,1, MacBookPro9,2	Macmini6,1, Macmini6,2	MacPro5,1
iMac14,1, iMac14,2, iMac14,3, iMac14,4	.	MacBookAir6,1, MacBookAir6,2	MacBookPro10,1, MacBookPro10,2	Macmini7,1	MacPro6,1
iMac15,1	.	MacBookAir7,1, MacBookAir7,2	MacBookPro11,1, MacBookPro11,2, MacBookPro11,3, MacBookPro11,4, MacBookPro11,5	.	.
iMac16,1, iMac16,2	.	.	MacBookPro12,1	.	.

Seems the cutout is related to Quicksync HEVC encoding from Skylake processors. If you check the table, 2016 MacBook that have Quicksync encoding support have Sidecar, while the 2015 model that is blocked have a Broadwell processor with just decoding support.

 

[EugW]

This MacRumors post is wrong, the framework blacklists all these Macs:

iMac	MacBook	MacBook Air	MacBook Pro	Mac mini	Mac Pro
iMac13,1, iMac13,2, iMac13,3	MacBook8,1	MacBookAir5,1, MacBookAir5,2	MacBookPro9,1, MacBookPro9,2	Macmini6,1, Macmini6,2	MacPro5,1
iMac14,1, iMac14,2, iMac14,3, iMac14,4	.	MacBookAir6,1, MacBookAir6,2	MacBookPro10,1, MacBookPro10,2	Macmini7,1	MacPro6,1
iMac15,1	.	MacBookAir7,1, MacBookAir7,2	MacBookPro11,1, MacBookPro11,2, MacBookPro11,3, MacBookPro11,4, MacBookPro11,5	.	.
iMac16,1, iMac16,2	.	.	MacBookPro12,1	.	.

Seems the cutout is related to Quicksync HEVC encoding from Skylake processors. If you check the table, 2016 MacBook that have Quicksync encoding support have Sidecar, while the 2015 model that is blocked have a Broadwell processor with just decoding support.

How would that work though? As mentioned, A8 (iPad mini 4) and A8X (iPad Air 2) do not support hardware HEVC decode. Or are you suggesting that those iPads won’t support Sidecar?

 

[tsialex]

How would that work though? As mentioned, A8 (iPad mini 4) and A8X (iPad Air 2) do not support hardware HEVC decode. Or are you suggesting that those iPads won’t support Sidecar?

For now, we don't have the official iPad Sidecar support list. Let's se what Apple says…

 

[redheeler]

The Preferences is now showing however my MBP late 2013 is not detecting my iPad Air 2. I don’t know yet whether or not the attempt failed or if my iPad is just bugging out since it’s constantly popping in and out of sync.

Mine is being detected (iPad Air 2, 2012 Retina MacBook Pro), which is strange since the iPad is not even on iOS 13. As expected it doesn't successfully connect though.

If anyone is wondering how I got the pref pane to show up on the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro, a new workaround was found and posted here:

Edit: To enable unsupported Mac and "display" devices use this Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool true; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool true; open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane

I had discovered the AllowAllDevices settings before writing this post, but for some reason it did not have effect at first so I resorted to patching the files. Looks like the patching is not needed.

 

[0014]

I tried 10.15 on a MacBook and 9.7inch iPad (A1673) and no sidecar.
Just added it to a MacBook Pro and Sidecar is working with same iPad.

I see the preference and the menu bar item but and I can extend the screen to the iPad wirelessly but my Apple Pencil is not working on the iPad....EDIT, working now had to pair the pencil again

View attachment 840825

View attachment 840819

View attachment 840820

Looking at the preference options I'd say SideCar might only work with TouchBar Mac's.

It works with my 2018 MBA too.

It works with the following devices:

• iMac 27-inch (Late 2105 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (2016 or newer)
• Mac mini (2018)
• Mac Pro (2019)
• MacBook Air (2018)
• MacBook (Early 2016 or newer)

 

[Brammy]

The reddit poster found another setting in the framework called hasShownPref. At a glance, it looks to me like patching is not a solution for most without a adhoc profile; just switching on the preferences.

defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display AllowAllDevices -bool true; defaults write com.apple.sidecar.display hasShownPref -bool true; open /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sidecar.prefPane

The Pref pane is now showing however my MBP late 2013 is not detecting my iPad Air 2. I don’t know yet whether or not the attempt failed or if my iPad is just bugging out since it’s constantly popping in and out of sync.

EDIT: Most likely a syncing bug from my Air 2

This worked for me. I now see the Side Car prefs. When it auto-launched Sys Prefs it gave me the "preference not available" error, but relaunching Sys Prefs I see it. I don't have my iPP running iOS 13 next to me, but it did see my iOS 12 iPhone that is with me.

 

[Brammy]

Using the terminal commands I was able to get it working on my 11" Air and my 1st gen 12.9.

The refresh rate -- as expected -- is horrid, but the experience wasn't that laggy. I did some rough sketching on Affinity Photo on my Mac via it and it wasn't that bad.

I look forward to using it on my MacBook Pro when it launches.

 

[rez07]

Hello, I'm trying to make it work with my late 2012 Macbook air (running Catalina beta) and an iPad Pro 10.5. (running iPadOS beta) By using the terminal commands, i was able to get the Pref Pane working, but when connecting to the iPad, it only works for some few seconds then crashes with this error message: "Unable to Connect to iPad. A miscellaneous error occurred (-401)."

 

[TMRJIJ]

Using the terminal commands I was able to get it working on my 11" Air and my 1st gen 12.9.

The refresh rate -- as expected -- is horrid, but the experience wasn't that laggy. I did some rough sketching on Affinity Photo on my Mac via it and it wasn't that bad.

I look forward to using it on my MacBook Pro when it launches.

That’s great. Hopefully, they won’t change anything too much before final release

 

[EugW]

It works with the following devices:

• iMac 27-inch (Late 2105 or newer)
• MacPro (2016 or newer)
• Mac mini (2018)
• Mac Pro (2019)
• MacBook Air (2018)
• MacBook (Early 2016 or newer)

There is no such thing as a 2016 Mac Pro.

 

[Brammy]

What I can't find a way to do is mirror the displays. When I am drawing, I want to see the drawing on both my iPad and 27" monitor. All I can see is a way to send the app to my iPad.

 

[0014]

There is no such thing as a 2016 Mac Pro.

My bad. That’s supposed to say MacBook Pro.

 

[ed.]

Did anyone with a supported mac managed to test this?
How's the performance compared to Duet and - most importantly - Astropad?

 

[ipottersmith]

Did anyone with a supported mac managed to test this?
How's the performance compared to Duet and - most importantly - Astropad?

This is really important to me too, because I use Astropad almost daily.

I tested it on an unsupported MacBook Pro (2014) by using the terminal command from Reddit.

The image quality was terrible, which is to be expected, but the latency was INSANE. I would say as good as Astropad, perhaps even better. It blew me away. When Catalina is officially released and I install it on my main work machine (which is supported) I'm 95% sure that I'll switch over from Astropad.

 

[CE3]

Does it work in Photoshop with Apple Pencil?

 

[ipottersmith]

Does it work in Photoshop with Apple Pencil?

That was the only thing I tested, and the answer is yes-- even pressure sensitivity worked! I forgot to test for tilt, come to think of it. Next time it's convenient I'll look into that as well. Anything else you want me to look into when I test?

 

[CE3]

That was the only thing I tested, and the answer is yes-- even pressure sensitivity worked! I forgot to test for tilt, come to think of it. Next time it's convenient I'll look into that as well. Anything else you want me to look into when I test?

Thanks! This was one of the main features I was hoping for.

Can you drag the image/document tab to the iPad for a full screen view and edit with the pencil?

 

[Brammy]

Anything else you want me to look into when I test?

Any way to have the drawing surface show on both the Mac and iPad screens?

 

[ipottersmith]

Any way to have the drawing surface show on both the Mac and iPad screens?

Yes! it acts as a native display, so you can mirror the screen or extend it. When mirroring your computer screen will change to the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio however.

EDIT: Just saw your other question, and the answer is also yes!

 

[Brammy]

Yes! it acts as a native display, so you can mirror the screen or extend it. When mirroring your computer screen will change to the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio however.

How do I mirror it? I didn't see a setting on the Mac. Is it in Display Properties?

 

[ipottersmith]

How do I mirror it? I didn't see a setting on the Mac. Is it in Display Properties?

Yes, under Displays, Arrangement there is a checkbox to mirror your display.