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MacPad: How I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPad Laptop computer and Pill That Apple Will not Make

MacPad: How I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPad Laptop computer and Pill That Apple Will not Make

2024-03-04 10:30:55

It began as a result of I needed a greater keyboard for my Imaginative and prescient Professional. I had no concept that, in in search of one, I’d by chance create the hybrid Apple laptop of my desires.

As I shortly found after engaged on the Imaginative and prescient Professional each day, you may get by with out an exterior trackpad, however a keyboard is critical if you wish to kind one thing longer than a passcode. That’s the place my journey started: if I needed to jot down and edit articles on the Imaginative and prescient Professional, what would one of the best keyboard-trackpad setup be?

Over the previous few weeks, I’ve examined all of the choices at my disposal. I began with an Apple Magic Trackpad and Keyboard, which I then positioned inside a Twelve South MagicBridge (it was too uncomfortable to placed on my lap for longer stretches of time). Subsequent, I attempted utilizing different types of “trays” for these two equipment that supplied a laptop-like format (consolation was higher, however lack of palm rejection was a problem). I even tried to revive an old Brydge keyboard and use it with the Imaginative and prescient Professional, however, alas, third-party trackpads aren’t supported on visionOS in the intervening time.

Ultimately, I settled on the answer that I ought to have identified was coming for me all alongside: one of the best keyboard and trackpad combo for a Imaginative and prescient Professional is a Mac laptop computer. So I began utilizing my MacBook Air on daily basis, profiting from Mac Virtual Display and Universal Control to get work performed with the Imaginative and prescient Professional in a mixture of basic desktop apps and new visionOS experiences. I’ll write extra about this quickly, however, thus far, it’s felt highly effective and versatile in a means that iPadOS hasn’t made me really feel shortly.

However one thing stored nagging me.

Why wasn’t Apple making that type of mixed accent for the Imaginative and prescient Professional? Extra importantly for my use case: I had a display bodily connected to my MacBook Air, however I hardly ever checked out it. If I’m utilizing my MacBook Air with Mac Digital Show or, once I’m at my desk, in clamshell mode with my Studio Show, do I even want a display to be completely connected to a pc that I primarily use as a keyboard and trackpad for different shows?

Simply as I used to be pondering these ideas, Luke Miani’s video appeared like an indication from the universe. The idea behind the video was fascinating: if a Imaginative and prescient Professional can give you a digital show to your Mac, are you able to bodily take away the show from a MacBook and proceed utilizing it in “headless” mode with a Imaginative and prescient Professional or different exterior displays? The reply is yes.

That video planted an thought in my mind that I couldn’t do away with. I may see myself working with that kind of accent; eradicating the display from my MacBook Air would make it even lighter to hold round and placed on my lap; it could additionally imply I may do away with the standalone Magic Keyboard and Trackpad on my desk and simply use the remaining a part of the MacBook Air for enter with my Studio Show.

I used to be tempted, however the extra I thought of it, the extra I spotted there was an apparent lacking piece. What about these instances once you do need to have a display connected to your MacBook Air as a result of you’ll be able to’t or don’t need to put on a Imaginative and prescient Professional?

And that was the turning level, and why I wanted you to comply with together with this introduction, so you’ll be able to perceive – I hope – how my mind operates.

You see, I’d been eager about making a headless MacBook Air and counting on Common Management, however I used to be solely contemplating one facet of the story – the Mac-to-Imaginative and prescient Professional facet. It was solely once I remembered that Mac-to-iPad Common Management and Sidecar additionally existed that all the pieces clicked:

I didn’t simply need to make a headless MacBook anymore. I had to determine easy methods to mix the MacBook Air and iPad Professional right into a single machine.

For the previous three weeks, I’ve been utilizing one thing I name a “MacPad” as my new laptop computer. The MacPad is a hybrid system that serves a number of functions:

  • It’s a keyboard and trackpad for my Imaginative and prescient Professional;
  • It’s a Mac with a removable show;
  • It’s an iPad Professional with an exterior keyboard and trackpad.

You realize the place that is going. These aren’t three separate units: it’s one laptop made from, nicely, two computer systems working collectively due to the magic of Apple’s ecosystem. It’s a Mac with an iPad show that I can detach and use as a pill each time I need; it’s an iPad that transforms right into a Mac when docked. And, it’s the perfect keyboard and trackpad accent for the Imaginative and prescient Professional.

In researching keyboard choices for the Imaginative and prescient Professional, I ended up constructing the convertible Apple laptop-tablet that I so desperately need the corporate to make.

Let me clarify how.

Desk of Contents

Setting Up a Headless Mac

Alright, so clearly step one of the method is to bodily take away the display from a MacBook, proper? Properly, not fairly. Let me share some recommendation first.

As I used to be contemplating this process for my very own MacBook Air, I began questioning what would occur if my headless Mac shut down or needed to reboot and I didn’t have a monitor to see the login display and kind my password. Sidecar, which is the Apple software program that turns an iPad right into a Mac show, can solely be activated from an unlocked Mac; Apple Watch unlock for macOS solely works after you’ve logged in with a password not less than as soon as after a macOS restart.

This can be a dealbreaker to some, however to beat this concern, I created a stronger password for my Mac and disabled FileVault encryption in order that I may use VNC entry on the macOS login display, even after a reboot.

I disabled FileVault in System Settings ⇾ Privateness & Safety ⇾ FileVault, made positive that display sharing was enabled underneath System Settings ⇾ Common ⇾ Sharing, and shut down my MacBook Air earlier than eradicating the show, as a take a look at.

I then powered on the MacBook Air once more, chosen the pc I beforehand configured in Edovia’s Screens VNC client and the app efficiently confirmed me the macOS login display even after my Mac had simply rebooted:

That was the primary concern I needed to determine upfront, and my concept labored. So long as you may have FileVault disabled and each a headless Mac and VNC shopper (which, in my case, is operating on an iPad) are related to the identical community, display sharing goes to work on the login display to kind in your password. For subsequent unlocks, in fact, you’ll be able to depend on Contact ID, Apple Watch unlock, or the Shortcuts app with SSH scripts, as we’ll see under.

Subsequent, you could have heard that to make use of Sidecar as an exterior monitor for a headless Mac, you even have to purchase a “dummy” HDMI adapter to make macOS imagine it nonetheless has a major show related to it. That is solely partially true. If you wish to use Sidecar with a headless Mac mini that isn’t related to an precise monitor, then sure: it’s important to purchase a dummy HDMI plug. However with the strategy I adopted to take away the show from my MacBook Air, it’s not vital: macOS will proceed to assume there’s a built-in show connected to the pc, even after it’s been bodily disconnected from the show connector contained in the chassis. In case you plan on doing this with a Mac laptop computer, you received’t want an additional video-out adapter.

And now for the primary occasion: to make my 13-inch M2 MacBook Air a headless laptop, I adopted – phrase for phrase – Luke Miani’s walkthrough on YouTube, which you’ll watch under:

My recommendation: earlier than you do that, watch the video twice and make an observation of all of the gear you’re going to want. I like to recommend the iFixit toolkit and a separate set of Torx screwdrivers with all of the sizes talked about within the video. It’s not a tough process, however you’ll must watch out, significantly when eradicating the defend from the battery connector and unplugging it. In case you’re courageous sufficient to do that, be sure to’re engaged on a clear floor the place you’ll be able to preserve observe of all of the shields and screws you’re eradicating from the pc; don’t rush the job and watch each step a number of instances, even should you assume you recognize what you’re doing.

As soon as I efficiently eliminated the show, I then put again among the shields that had been overlaying all of the connectors and hinges contained in the Air’s chassis, however – like Miani – I finally ran out of persistence and sealed all the pieces once more with out re-applying all of the shields. (It’s been fantastic thus far.)

It was lastly the second of reality: I needed to activate my Mac, wait a couple of seconds, and see if I may log within the first time utilizing VNC on my iPad. I’ve to be trustworthy: it was a really irritating 30 seconds after I pressed the ability button and the Air’s trackpad wasn’t clicking. However then the keyboard lit up, the Air confirmed up within the listing of close by units in Screens, and I knew I’d performed it:

I used to be “remotely” logged into my headless MacBook Air from my iPad, however, in fact, utilizing it as an precise show meant I needed to arrange Sidecar. And never solely that, however I additionally needed to discover out if I may provoke a Sidecar connection from the iPad itself slightly than do it from macOS each time.

I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I needed to create an adjustable show mount for my new iPad show.

Attaching the iPad Professional to the MacBook Air

If I needed the hybrid laptop-tablet of my desires that Apple received’t make, I’d want a system to tear my MacBook’s show away, so I may use it as a pill. That’s the pc I need Apple to make; for now, I’d must create my very own model by counting on some previous buddies:

Magnets.

The thought got here naturally as quickly as I pictured the iPad Professional as a Sidecar show floating above the MacBook Air’s keyboard: to imitate a laptop computer configuration, I may depend on adjustable magnetic mounts to offer a sturdy, but versatile mounting possibility for the iPad Professional. Even higher, if I used sufficient magnets and positioned them good, I may even assist a wider viewing angle than the MacBook Air usually permits for.

As soon as once more, I used the Rolling Square Edge Pro Core mounts, which you will bear in mind from my story about attaching an iPhone and puck-style speakers to my iPad Professional. First, I connected three adhesive magnetic bases to the underside of my MacBook Air, like so:

As you’ll be able to see, I connected the bases as near the chassis’ edge as I may. I did that in order that the adjustable mounting clips may prolong so far as potential each towards the Air’s keyboard and away from it. By doing this, due to the Edge Professional Core’s extensively adjustable angle, I may even lay the show flat on a desk if I need to:

Then got here my subsequent thought: crafting a customized magnetic cowl for the iPad Professional that might additionally connect to the Rolling Sq. magnets on the MacBook Air.

Whereas I caught three magnetic bases to the underside of the MacBook Air – which is one thing I by no means see or contact – I didn’t need to connect three magnets to the again of my iPad Professional. Right here’s what I did as a substitute: I took an ESR smart cover for the iPad Pro (a less expensive various to Apple’s Good Folio that I’ve been utilizing for years now) and used a knife to separate the again cowl from the entrance. I additionally minimize out the Apple Pencil flap since I wasn’t going to make use of it. Then, I lined up three magnets with the Rolling Sq. clips, connected them to the sensible cowl, and voila: I created a light-weight mounting system that might permit me to simply and shortly tear away the MacBook’s show and use it as an iPad.

Once I say “tear away the show”, I imply it. Right here’s how easy it’s to go from MacBook mode to iPad mode once I’m performed working with macOS:

I also can select to detach the iPad with out its cowl:

I’ve been working with this magnetic attachment system for the previous couple of weeks, and it’s been terrific. The extra adjustable viewing angles have allowed me to make use of this laptop whereas mendacity on the sofa or in mattress and tilt the show again additional than a typical MacBook Air. Three magnets present a connection robust sufficient to stroll round the home with this laptop with out the concern of the iPad detaching from the Air’s chassis. The ultimate product, as I’ll clarify later, is heavier than a MacBook Air – however it additionally carries the advantages of two OSes in the identical machine.

Is there a extra elegant and sensible answer that doesn’t contain sticking magnets to a MacBook Air or slicing a sensible cowl by hand? I’m positive there may be. Maybe somebody with a 3D printer and extra expertise than yours actually may design a customized mounting system that integrates properly with the Air’s show hinges and chassis. Nevertheless, given my lack of knowledge and sources, I believe the modular system I designed is fairly good, and it does the job nicely.

Utilizing Sidecar to Flip an iPad right into a Mac Show

Sufficient about {hardware}. It’s time to get to the meaty a part of this story: Sidecar.

We’ve been in a position to make use of an iPad as an prolonged show for macOS for the previous 5 years – since macOS Catalina and iPadOS 13, to be precise. Sidecar has barely modified through the years, so what John covered in his original story nonetheless applies at this time: Sidecar was conceived to make use of an iPad as a secondary show for a Mac; you’ll be able to drag home windows from the Mac’s major show to the iPad’s, or you’ll be able to ship particular person home windows from one monitor to a different. There are some extra choices you’ll be able to configure (there’s even a digital Contact Bar, nonetheless!), which you can even examine in Apple’s assist doc here.

There’s just one drawback, although: even after 5 years, you’ll be able to solely provoke a Sidecar connection from a Mac first. Suffice to say, that was a little bit of an issue for somebody who not had a show connected to his MacBook Air. How may I work together with the macOS UI to begin Sidecar with no show? Was my solely answer to VNC into my Mac first after which manually begin Sidecar from there each time?

See, my dream was extra bold. I needed to sit down down with my MacPad, press a button on iPadOS, and enter macOS mode; then as soon as I used to be performed, I needed to have the ability to press one other button on the Mac, and return to iPadOS mode. Primarily, I needed a seamless transition between macOS and iPadOS, designed round Sidecar however sooner than what Apple usually permits for.

And, expensive readers, I figured it out.

Throughout my analysis, I got here throughout a number of Reddit and discussion board threads from individuals who had been questioning if there was a means to make use of Shortcuts and automation to begin a Sidecar connection straight from iPadOS. I attempted among the strategies talked about on-line, together with one which involved the often-unreliable GUI automation, and none of them labored as shortly or reliably as I hoped. Then I got here throughout Sidecar Launcher, an open-source venture by developer Jovany Ocasio that offered precisely the answer I used to be in search of.

In contrast to different instruments to begin a Sidecar connection you could discover on the Web, Sidecar Launcher shouldn’t be primarily based on AppleScript. As an alternative, Sidecar Launcher is a bit of executable program that makes use of non-public APIs primarily based on Apple’s ‘SidecarCore’ framework to return an inventory of all out there Sidecar-enabled units, begin a selected Sidecar connection with out interacting with macOS in any respect, or disconnect Sidecar. You possibly can examine the Sidecar Launcher code here and, in order for you, obtain the Xcode venture and construct the executable file your self.

To make use of Sidecar Launcher, you simply must obtain the executable script, place it someplace in Finder, after which obtain a companion shortcut in your iPad. The shortcut created by Jovany Ocasio requires you to enter your Mac’s IP tackle/hostname, username, and password, in addition to the trail the place you positioned the Sidecar Launcher script. That’s all of the configuration that you must do and also you received’t have to the touch Sidecar Launcher in any respect sooner or later. While you run the shortcut in your iPad, it’ll care for waking up your Mac, logging in, and enabling the Sidecar connection for you. Run the shortcut in your iPad, wait 10 seconds or so, and the iPad’s display will flip right into a macOS prolonged show – no additional interplay vital.

The primary time I attempted Sidecar Launcher, I knew it was exactly what I wanted, however I nonetheless needed to make it sooner and simpler to make use of. Check out how Jovany Ocasio’s shortcut works by default:

And right here’s Sidecar Launcher (Ticci’s Model), which connects to macOS and permits Sidecar in two seconds:

I modified the unique Sidecar Launcher shortcut in a few methods. For starters, I privately received in contact with Jovany Ocasio, who was form sufficient to hearken to my suggestions and carried out a disconnect command that terminates an current Sidecar session. That allowed me to place collectively a model of a shortcut that acts as a toggle:

  • When run from the iPad, the shortcut immediately connects to the Mac;
  • When run from the Mac, the identical shortcut disconnects Sidecar.

In my model of the shortcut, I eliminated all of the code that handled waking a Mac and authenticating the person: I can simply unlock my headless MacBook Air with Contact ID and know that the pc is able to go once I run the shortcut in my iPad’s dock. Moreover, I eliminated the necessity to manually select an iPad from an inventory of supported Sidecar units close by and as a substitute used a ‘Textual content’ motion that offers macOS the identify of the iPad it wants to hook up with.

Thanks to those modifications, so long as each the Mac and iPad are already unlocked, close by, and on the identical Wi-Fi community, the Sidecar Launcher shortcut within the iPad dock will provoke a Sidecar connection instantly. Once I’m performed working with macOS, operating the identical shortcut from the Mac’s menu bar will give up Sidecar as a substitute. Props to Jovany Ocasio for reverse-engineering how Sidecar works and discovering the non-public APIs that make these direct connections potential. You possibly can obtain Sidecar Launcher (Ticci’s Model) under and discover it within the MacStories Shortcuts Archive:

As we noticed beforehand, macOS nonetheless thinks there’s a built-in show connected to my laptop. And since Sidecar can flip an iPad into an prolonged show, it’s additionally potential to make it the primary show of the pc – which is a setting that may stick over time, thus defaulting to the Sidecar-enabled iPad because the MacBook’s major show the following time you join. To do that, you simply want to go to System Settings ⇾ Shows, drag the menu bar onto the iPad show, and select to make it the primary one.


With these setup-related particulars out of the way in which, permit me to dig into how I’ve been working with my MacPad for the previous three weeks.

Once I need to get some work performed (equivalent to modifying a whole concern of the newsletter, lengthy writing classes, or recording podcasts), I connect my 11” iPad Professional to the MacBook Air, press a button, and I’m in macOS mode due to Sidecar. In my expertise, Sidecar has confirmed to be remarkably quick, dependable, and lag- or artifact-free when each the iPad Professional and MacBook Air are on a 5 GHz W-Fi community. It’s actually spectacular simply how good Sidecar is when used as a wi-fi show and the way significantly better it appears than, say, any VNC shopper that has to cope with video compression. Due to Sidecar, my iPad Professional appears like a local show connected to the MacBook Air – not like a unique laptop that’s wirelessly related to the Mac.

Sidecar by no means breaks the phantasm that you simply’re working with macOS and, because of this, writing about how Sidecar works can be like writing about your entire Mac working system. Once I hook up with Sidecar, my iPad merely turns into a Mac show, able to doing all of the issues any common Mac can. If there ever was an ideal match for the “It just works” mantra, Sidecar is it.

That stated, there are a few particulars I need to level out about working with macOS utilizing Sidecar.

I attempted establishing Sidecar in portrait mode utilizing BetterDisplay with my 11” iPad Professional, and it was a foul thought. On the default decision scaling possibility offered by Sidecar, all the pieces displayed on-screen was too tiny to be comfy; plus, the portrait orientation was simply bizarre to me. I do know some of us on the market like their vertical displays for coding and different duties, however it wasn’t for me. If you wish to attempt, you’ll be able to follow this guide.

While you’re utilizing Sidecar, some contact enter choices are nonetheless out there on the iPad’s show. You possibly can swipe from the sting of the show to invoke Slide Over apps (a lot extra on this within the subsequent part) and swipe up with 4 fingers to enter the iPadOS app switcher, the place you’ll discover that Sidecar is proven as a particular ‘Continuity’ app that can’t be seen anyplace else within the system:

It’s also possible to scroll any macOS window with two fingers, pinch to zoom, or use the Apple Pencil to click on any UI aspect. That is the place we enter the wild hybrid territory of this venture that I love, and which I’ll broaden upon within the subsequent part of the story.

At any level once I’m utilizing macOS on the iPad’s show, I can merely attain out with my fingers and pinch on, say, a selected a part of a photograph I need to zoom in on. It’s a pure gesture that brings the direct manipulation we’ve gotten used to appreciating on touch-enabled units to the Mac. I’m not saying that I’d like to manage the macOS UI with contact on a regular basis – some UI parts are too small to be tapped comfortably; I’m saying that for the occasional interplay, it’s good to have the ability to contact a display like we do a whole lot of instances every day for different units in our lives.

One other good use case for infrequent contact interactions? Ripping the “show” aside from the MacBook and utilizing the Apple Pencil to navigate and click on round macOS.

Each now and again, I’m doing one thing with my MacPad that requires studying for some time, equivalent to modifying an article for MacStories. A pill – which helps you to cozy up on a pleasant chair, put the display in your lap or in entrance of your face as you’re mendacity down – is nice for studying in a snug place for extended intervals. A daily MacBook doesn’t allow you to do that. With my MacPad, I can detach the display, and – if I need to proceed utilizing macOS for the duty (the selection is all the time mine) – preserve working with the Mac and use two fingers to scroll and the Pencil to click on. Sidecar works simply fantastic inside a 10-meter distance when used wirelessly, and I can’t let you know how good it’s to have this sort of freedom for these instances once you want it.

I additionally need to point out two Mac apps which have helped on this transition from a vanilla MacBook Air to the MacPad. Past the same old suspects (Raycast, Audio Hijack, and Bartender), these apps have significantly sped up my MacPad workflow:

Magnet. There are dozens of tile-based window managers for macOS that purpose to copy the multitasking move of Home windows 11, however after making an attempt a number of them, I like Magnet for 2 particular causes. First, it comes with easy-to-remember hotkeys for tiling home windows to the left or proper sides of the display, which is an efficient method to create cut up views with out utilizing macOS’ actual Split View mode:

Extra importantly, Magnet has a keyboard shortcut for biking the window of the frontmost app between shows. On the off-chance {that a} window doesn’t open on my Sidecar show however is as a substitute spawned on the non-existent built-in MacBook Air show, Magnet’s ⌃⌥⌘←/→ hotkeys let me immediately cycle that window throughout related displays, thus bringing it again to the iPad’s show.

Screens. It doesn’t get any higher than Edovia’s Screens app on the subject of connecting by way of VNC to computer systems in your native community or out there remotely. Screens is prime to my new MacPad workflow as a result of it’s how I can kind in my login password after a macOS reboot, however it’s additionally what I exploit to hook up with my gaming PC to begin streaming video games to macOS or visionOS utilizing Moonlight.

macOS and iPadOS, Collectively

We have to go deeper now.

What if I advised you that, with my MacPad, I can use each macOS and iPadOS collectively, as in actually on the similar time? That is the place issues get a bit wild, in a means that I wasn’t anticipating when this experiment started.

A number of weeks in the past once I began utilizing Sidecar, I seen that – so long as my iPad had efficiently authenticated on the Lock Display screen with Face ID – I may toggle backwards and forwards between macOS and iPadOS by swiping up on the House indicator. As I famous above, Sidecar reveals up as a particular Continuity app within the iPad app switcher; you need to use different iPad apps after which return to Sidecar, or you’ll be able to give up the Sidecar app on the iPad to terminate the connection.

It was solely once I disabled Stage Supervisor on my iPad Professional that I spotted Sidecar would let me use macOS and iPadOS apps on the identical show directly. Our good old friend Slide Over is without doubt one of the iPadOS UI parts to be allowed inside Sidecar’s show whereas macOS is energetic. Simply swipe from the correct fringe of the show, herald Slide Over, and you need to use an iPad app whereas macOS is proven beneath.

The flexibility to make use of macOS and iPad apps in tandem has been a game-changer for me. There are some apps – like Music, House, or Messages – that I favor on the iPad as they lend themselves nicely to fast interactions that solely require glancing at them briefly. (As an illustration, if I need to activate a lightweight in my workplace or reply with a Tapback to a message.) As an alternative of cluttering my Mac workspace with extra home windows, I can contact the display, swipe for Slide Over, do what I’ve to do in an iPad app for a couple of seconds, and dismiss it.

I’m not constrained to a single iPad app both: Slide Over has supported a number of apps for a few years now; when invoked from inside Sidecar, Slide Over lets me cycle between a number of app home windows and, if I notice I’m going to want extra time with certainly one of them, make it full-screen and depart macOS.

One other iPadOS UI aspect that’s allowed to coexist with macOS whereas in Sidecar is the Image in Image participant for movies (or, as we’ve seen on MacStories, other apps that use the same technology):

That is nice for watching movies from an iPad app that doesn’t have a Mac counterpart when you’re nonetheless working with macOS, however it additionally brings me to a different, greater level: when utilizing two OSes directly this fashion, you’ll be able to hearken to a number of audio sources on the similar time – one from iPadOS, one other from macOS.

This, in fact, is one thing that has lengthy been potential on the Mac, however by no means on the iPad, which nonetheless pauses a video if, for instance, you begin music playback elsewhere. Need to watch a video on mute on the Mac when you’re nonetheless listening to a podcast from Pocket Casts, which doesn’t have a local Mac app? Simply put Pocket Casts in Slide Over, play the video on the Mac, and each media streams can reside collectively. This has all the time been the case for Sidecar, however it takes on a brand new that means when the iPad itself turns into the first show for a headless Mac laptop computer.

Some great benefits of Sidecar and Apple’s tightly built-in ecosystem don’t cease at media, nonetheless. Once I’m utilizing my MacPad, I can begin a display recording on iPadOS, change over to macOS, and the recording will proceed with out interruptions. Right here, let me present you with a video that I recorded from my MacPad:

One other integration that Apple constructed years in the past and that additionally works fantastically with the MacPad is Universal Clipboard. Whether or not it’s some textual content I copied from the Mac or, say, a picture I copied from the iPad’s Photographs app, the clipboard shall be immediately shared between platforms when Sidecar is energetic, permitting me to simply copy and paste between completely different apps and environments as if I used to be utilizing one system.

See Also


One of the best a part of utilizing macOS and iPadOS along with my MacPad has been the belief that doing this doesn’t really feel bizarre in any respect. Fairly the alternative: due to Apple’s consistent design language and the widespread denominator of SwiftUI throughout trendy apps, there are platform-specific variations between apps and OSes, however they’re holistically constant in a means that facilitates hopping between two distinct environments.

This, I imagine, can be Apple’s best benefit in opposition to its rivals if solely they invested in making the MacPad an actual product: they have already got a vibrant, deep ecosystem of apps primarily based on a shared UI language that’s equally optimized for every platform however constant and acquainted on the similar time.

I say this as somebody who labored with a Floor Professional 9 final yr for six months and lately hung out exploring Android foldables: no different tech firm on Earth at the moment has the identical ecosystem power, developer tooling, design basis, and user-friendly method as Apple right here. The mix of iPadOS and macOS is, proper now, already leagues above what Microsoft is doing with the Floor line; the one drawback is that I needed to construct this hybrid system myself to show it.

Not solely is Apple nicely positioned to launch a convertible laptop computer sooner or later, however their current OSes and cross-device integrations already make for a implausible expertise with one thing like a MacPad at this time.

Questions, Tidbits, and Different Setups

Beneath, I’ve compiled an inventory of some questions I had to determine through the MacPad’s creation in addition to examples of different setups for the MacPad’s modular system.

What About Sidecar with out Wi-Fi?

In case you’re not conversant in Sidecar, you need to use this characteristic with each an iPad and Mac signed into the identical Apple ID on a Wi-Fi community, or by connecting the 2 with a USB cable.

In my expertise, except for the occasional glitch that pressured me to give up Sidecar and restart it, the USB connection hasn’t been vital, which enabled me to maintain the iPad charged whereas I used to be utilizing macOS with it. My concept is that the problems I encountered had been as a result of iPad switching to the 6 GHz band of my Wi-Fi 6E router; the 5 GHz band has been extra secure each day. As I wrote above, when utilizing Sidecar over Wi-Fi, I didn’t discover any discernible latency or picture artifacts.

However what about these instances once I need to use the MacPad and don’t have a identified Wi-Fi community to hook up with – like, say, once I’m in my automobile? I solved that drawback with an adjunct John first brought to my attention: a conveyable Wi-Fi router referred to as GL-iNet Beryl AX3000.

This small gadget, which is powered by way of USB-C, can create a Wi-Fi 6, 5 GHz community by tethering over USB to my iPhone’s mobile plan. Once I must get work performed with my MacPad within the automobile, I can simply hearth up the AX3000, look ahead to its Wi-Fi community to come back again on-line, and look ahead to the iPad and Mac to hook up with it routinely (it takes a couple of seconds). Then, wi-fi Sidecar will work simply fantastic. I examined this in my automobile over the previous few weeks, and it’s labored out completely.

What About Unlocking the Mac?

Since my MacBook Air not has a show lid, the pc’s built-in sensor that determines whether or not the pc is closed or not doesn’t work anymore. This isn’t an enormous deal – I can all the time manually log off with ⌃⌘Q or look ahead to my laptop to fall asleep by itself – however it’s brought on a selected concern I needed to remedy.

With this sort of headless laptop computer setup, my suggestion is to disable automated Apple Watch unlock and solely depend on Contact ID for login as a substitute. With out a lid all the time closed on prime of it, my Apple Watch would constantly unlock the MacBook, even when it was saved in a bag whereas I used to be driving. (I exploit this sleeve to carry each components of the MacPad.) That made me nervous, so I made a decision to disable Apple Watch authentication, and I haven’t had any unintended logins since.

iPadOS Mode with Common Management

For these instances once I need to work with the extra centered surroundings of iPadOS, I can depend on Common Management to maneuver the pointer and kind on my iPad Professional. All I’ve to do is place my finger on the Mac’s Contact ID sensor to log in, then transfer the trackpad to the left, and the pointer lands on iPadOS.

As we’ve known for a while, this characteristic is superb. However I may also add that, as of at this time, one of the best iPad Professional keyboard is a headless MacBook’s keyboard. Ironic, I do know. However hear me out: the keyboard is quiet, the keys have good journey however not an excessive amount of, they’re backlit, and…there’s a operate row. The identical keys that management media playback or keys for Highlight and Do Not Disturb work the identical means on iPadOS whereas in Common Management mode with out having to remap something. The trackpad is rather more comfy than the iPad’s Magic Keyboard one, and all of the gestures for multitasking work too. It appears like utilizing a extra pro-level Magic Keyboard (which Apple may announce soon), besides it’s truly a Mac.

The one draw back right here is that Sidecar must be turned off for Mac-to-iPad Common Management to work. Sooner or later, I hope Apple can discover a method to allow us to use Common Management when the Sidecar/Continuity “app” is operating, however not within the foreground.

iPad as a Pill

As for these instances once I need to use the iPad as a pill, nicely…I can simply detach it from the MacPad’s magnetic construction, and it’s an iPad. Since I connected three magnets to the again of the sensible cowl I modded, I figured they may very well be helpful once I’m utilizing the iPad as a pill as nicely. Positive sufficient, the magnets had been an ideal match for a magnetic PopSocket, which I can connect to the again of the iPad once I need to learn an article or e-book for longer classes:

I also needs to say that I attempted each the 12.9” and 11” iPad Professional for my MacPad, and I favor the smaller iPad Professional. For some time, I’ve been feeling like I used to be principally utilizing the 12.9” iPad Professional in laptop computer mode (with the Magic Keyboard) as a result of the system was too massive and heavy to be loved as a pill. The MacPad additional cemented this concept and pushed me to cease utilizing the 12.9” iPad Professional altogether.

For starters, whereas the 12.9” iPad Pro display is better and makes for a extra visually balanced MacPad, the entire thing will get too heavy at 1900 grams – that’s 350 grams greater than a 14” MacBook Professional. With an 11” iPad Professional, the MacPad weighs round 1650 grams, which is just 100 grams greater than a MacBook Professional. The large iPad Professional taste of the MacPad regarded nice with the bigger display and XDR show, however it was unwieldy, and I used to be consistently afraid the magnets wouldn’t maintain.

Extra importantly, nonetheless, the 11” iPad Professional strikes a significantly better steadiness between giant sufficient as a Mac show and sufficiently small to be held as a pill in my arms. Since I’ve actual multitasking on the Mac, I disabled Stage Supervisor on the iPad Professional, and it jogged my memory of simply how a lot nicer old-school Cut up View and Slide Over are on an iPad once you need to do less-intensive iPad issues.

I can maintain the 11” iPad Professional with each arms in panorama and kind with the software program keyboard utilizing my thumbs; in portrait, I see extra textual content than an iPad mini on a single web page, and holding the system shouldn’t be as awkward as doing the identical with a 12.9” iPad. Plus, as I showed in the Monthly Log for Club MacStories members, the 11” iPad Professional additionally works nice as a pretend PlayStation Portal, which I created by modding the Galileo G8 sport controller.

The MacPad made me an 11” iPad Professional believer. I can’t look ahead to this iPad mannequin to hold an OLED display.

Headless Mac at a Desk with a Studio Show

By making a headless MacBook Air, I used to be additionally capable of simplify the setup at my desk with my Studio Show, which is the place I file all my podcasts. Since my laptop is now comprised of a keyboard and trackpad, I not want separate enter equipment on my desk: I simply want a single Thunderbolt cable, which connects the MacBook Air to Ethernet and the Studio Show by way of the CalDigit TS4 dock.

Those that have been following me for some time know the way a lot I disliked having a keyboard and trackpad all the time on my desk just for these instances once I wanted to file. Now, once I’m not within the workplace, the desk is empty; and once I’m working, I solely have to attach one cable to my “keyboard laptop” to increase macOS to the Studio Show and use that as my major monitor. I even switched to an angled USB-C connector to create a straight connection between the cable and the pc:

As a result of my desk is now tidied up and clutter-free, I can use the house once I’m not working to place my Z13 gaming PC, which I exploit to stream video games to macOS, iPadOS, or visionOS utilizing Sunshine and Moonlight.

Headless Mac as Keyboard and Trackpad Enter for the Imaginative and prescient Professional

I saved the concept that began this complete journey for final.

As I suspected once I initially linked to Luke Miani’s YouTube video, a headless MacBook Air makes for the final word Imaginative and prescient Professional accent: in a really compact, quiet, and highly effective bundle, you may have a Mac that you need to use as a digital show on the Imaginative and prescient Professional and as an enter system that helps glorious typing with palm rejection options for its trackpad.

Once I’m not utilizing the MacPad, I exploit Mac Digital Show. I like the characteristic a lot, I’m eager about promoting my Studio Show, which is simply taking over house on a wall at this level. Positive, the decision of Mac Digital Show isn’t pretty much as good as a bodily Studio Show; nonetheless, a Studio Show can’t develop into an enormous monitor in entrance of my eyes that may coexist with different giant visionOS home windows. In some ways, I imagine that, for my use case, the Imaginative and prescient Professional is probably the most spectacular Mac monitor I personal: the trade-off in picture high quality is balanced by its portability and freedom to make use of a big Mac interface anyplace I’m.

As is the case with Common Management on the iPad, you’ll be able to’t use Sidecar and Mac Digital Show on the similar time. Whereas in pure headless mode, the Imaginative and prescient Professional nonetheless acknowledges the MacBook Air in entrance of me and shows a ‘Join’ button the place the bodily show was once. When it doesn’t do this, I can simply hook up with the Mac from visionOS’ Management Heart.

Extra Questions

Listed below are solutions to some widespread questions I obtained from buddies who learn the story upfront:

Can the MacPad use the iPad’s webcam whereas in Sidecar? Sadly, no. Continuity Camera is one other characteristic that’s unavailable whereas Sidecar is energetic. If I should be on a video name whereas utilizing the MacPad in macOS mode, I can plug in my Opal Tadpole portable webcam and fix it to the iPad Professional’s bezel; in any other case, I can simply change to iPadOS mode with Common Management and use the iPad’s front-facing digital camera (which I hope strikes to the panorama facet within the subsequent iPad Execs).

What are the total weight comparisons between the 12.9” and 11” iPad Professional variations? Listed below are the numbers:

  • MacPad with 11” iPad Professional (ESR again cowl): 1650 grams (3.63 lbs)
  • MacPad with 12.9” iPad Professional (Nomad leather back cover): 1900 grams (4.18 lbs)
  • MacBook Air 13”: 1240 grams (2.73 lbs)
  • MacBook Professional 14” (M3): 1550 grams (3.41 lbs)

Primarily, for 100 grams greater than a MacBook Professional, I get two computer systems as a substitute of 1 with my 11” MacPad.

When you’ve got extra questions, be at liberty to ask them within the Club MacStories Discord, and I’ll attempt my greatest to reply them tomorrow within the reside Q&A we’re doing with members.

How do you cost each units? I can plug in a USB-C cable in every system utilizing my Anker GaN Prime charger once I’m dwelling, or by way of the Anker Prime battery once I’m out and about. I ought to notice, nonetheless, that by not having a built-in show anymore, the MacBook Air’s battery lasts ceaselessly now, which is a pleasant perk of this venture.

My Future Is a MacPad

It’s humorous: the MacPad, a product that doesn’t exist and that I created by modding a MacBook Air, is a testomony to the unimaginable power of Apple’s ecosystem.

Apple doesn’t provide a MacPad (yet), however they’ve been creating the applied sciences that might make it potential for a very long time. It’s solely due to the mixing between {hardware} and software program within the Apple ecosystem that I used to be capable of flip two computer systems into one and use it with mainly zero points.

There are a number of classes to be realized from this story. For starters, you shouldn’t have to do that your self if all you’re in search of is a greater enter accent for the Imaginative and prescient Professional: Apple ought to make that system, and it’s foolish that they haven’t up to date their standalone keyboard and trackpad in years. I’m totally conscious that what I’ve performed is absurd, even when it labored out nicely ultimately.

Second, Sidecar is surprisingly resilient: I’ve gotten so used to working with my MacPad now, I generally overlook I’m utilizing a wi-fi show that’s truly an iPad operating a unique working system. The groups at Apple engaged on Sidecar, Common Management, and Mac Digital Show are chargeable for actually outstanding engineering feats which might be quick, safe, highly effective, and intuitive. These options are quintessential Apple, and I’m so completely happy each time I exploit them. The truth that I’m now utilizing macOS virtually totally with digital screens says lots concerning the high quality of those functionalities.

Moreover, the setup I created will instantly scale to new iPad Execs as quickly as they’re launched: I’ll simply want to purchase one other sensible cowl I can mod. And due to the MacPad, I’ll have an OLED MacBook months (years?) earlier than these merchandise are launched. OLED goes to be an excellent addition to my MacPad setup.

Most significantly, nonetheless, making the MacPad has proven me that it’s so liberating to make use of a convertible Apple laptop that may be each a laptop computer and pill on the similar time.

At a second’s discover, I can go from working with a laptop computer to holding a pill in my arms, and the person expertise doesn’t undergo due to the transition. Likewise, by mixing macOS and iPadOS apps on the identical show, I can have one of the best of each worlds: the ability and flexibility of the Mac, and the nimble nature and richer app ecosystem of the iPad.

It began as a result of I needed a greater keyboard for my Imaginative and prescient Professional, and I ended up by chance creating the Apple laptop of my desires: a Mac-iPad hybrid with two type components I like, and not one of the constraints of both of them. After utilizing my MacPad for the previous weeks, there’s one key takeaway:

An official Apple one can’t come quickly sufficient.

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