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hajime

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
7,922
1,312
Hi, I know there are various ways to do it but as of today, what is the best way to use the iPad Pro screen as an external display for Windows PC. I want to use extended screen mode. Thanks
 

xaqt93

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2011
517
440
Hi, I know there are various ways to do it but as of today, what is the best way to use the iPad Pro screen as an external display for Windows PC. I want to use extended screen mode. Thanks
Very expensive external display. But personally, if you wanted to do this, I am not sure how it is done. Probably shouldn’t be commenting, this is just interesting for me to see.
 

muzzy996

macrumors 65816
Feb 16, 2018
1,117
1,061
Not sure what way is best but I've used Duet Display app in the past. Haven't had the need to in a while but it certainly was helpful having a second display for my laptop when working while traveling.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,917
13,261
I’ve only tried Duet Display and Spacedesk.

Between the two, I liked Spacedesk more. It even works with multiple iPads as external display.

Duet Display, I could only use with cable. I found Air/wireless mode to be too sluggish. For me, this was problematic since my laptop only had 1 USB-C port which I also needed for charging hence I could only use it in bursts.
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,643
4,469
At this point the best solution is Spacedesk. It's free only because it's still in beta, but the beta will "die" at some point next year and it will become a paid app (with a free limited app), not clear it is going to be a subscription or a 1 time purchase and how much.
Duet is a paid app. One time for wired connection (no stylus), subscriptions for wireless (air) or wireless + stylus (pro)
Another option is Luna display, but it requires buying a hardware dongles (but no other costs)
 
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hajime

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
7,922
1,312
I’ve only tried Duet Display and Spacedesk.

Between the two, I liked Spacedesk more. It even works with multiple iPads as external display.

Duet Display, I could only use with cable. I found Air/wireless mode to be too sluggish. For me, this was problematic since my laptop only had 1 USB-C port which I also needed for charging hence I could only use it in bursts.

Some mentioned that Duet Display wireless gained significant improvement in speed in their February update. Have you tried that? I don’t like subscription model.
 

hajime

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
7,922
1,312
At this point the best solution is Spacedesk. It's free only because it's still in beta, but the beta will "die" at some point next year and it will become a paid app (with a free limited app), not clear it is going to be a subscription or a 1 time purchase and how much.
Duet is a paid app. One time for wired connection (no stylus), subscriptions for wireless (air) or wireless + stylus (pro)
Another option is Luna display, but it requires buying a hardware dongles (but no other costs)
Do we need to worry about security risk using Spacedesk?
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,643
4,469
Do we need to worry about security risk using Spacedesk?
No, the fact that it is in beta does not mean it's riskier. And it's been in beta for years. It was less reliable a couple of years ago, now it's pretty good and it's preparing to become a paid app.
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,643
4,469
Some mentioned that Duet Display wireless gained significant improvement in speed in their February update. Have you tried that? I don’t like subscription model.
There is hardly any latency in either Duet Air or Spacedesk (or Luna) as long as you have good wifi connection. Each have their strengths and I talked about them in another post a couple of months ago, but latency is not an issue for any of them (unless the issue is with your network).
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,917
13,261
Some mentioned that Duet Display wireless gained significant improvement in speed in their February update. Have you tried that? I don’t like subscription model.

I used it in May while I was on vacation and had to do some work.

Granted on crappy hotel wifi. I didn't really made any plans to use the iPad as external display. Alas, I was struggling with just the 15.6" laptop display so I searched for a quick solution and Duet Display and Luna were the most prominent.

Meanwhile, I only learned about and tested Spacedesk a couple weeks after on a fairly decent 802.11ac/Wi-Fi 5 network.
 
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