Universal Control and Sidecar: What's the difference?

Apple's Macs and iPads include support for two separate features called Sidecar and Universal Control, which allow the devices to be used together, but in different ways.

What is universal control?

Starting with iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, currently in beta, Apple is introducing support for Universal Control, a long-awaited feature designed to allow control of multiple devices with a single mouse and keyboard Mac and iPad.

With Universal Control, you can use the same cursor and keyboard on any nearby Mac or iPad that's signed in to your iCloud account, and it works across multiple Macs and up to 10 meters (30 meters) apart from each other. ft.) between multiple Macs and iPads.

What is the difference between Universal Control and Sidecar?

Using Universal Control, if you have a Mac and an iPad, or even multiple Macs and iPads, you can use your keyboard and cursor on one device. So, for example, if you have a MacBook Pro and an iPad at your desk, you can simply swipe on the ‌iPad‌ to use the MacBook Pro's trackpad, and the Mac's keyboard will become the iPad's input device. The same goes for your iPad if you have a keyboard connected.

Sidecar works completely differently. Sidecar was released in 2019 as part of macOS Catalina and was designed to let you use your iPad as a secondary display for your Mac. You can use up to one iPad to mirror content on your Mac display, or turn it into a secondary display for extra screen space in macOS. Universal Control doesn't extend your Mac's display to your iPad, so you'll need to use Sidecar if you want your Mac's content to appear on your iPad.

Please note that while Universal Control lets you use your Mac's keyboard and trackpad to navigate your iPad, it runs on two different operating systems (macOS and iPadOS), so there are some quirks . For example, if you drag a photo from your Mac to your iPad, you first need to open the Photos app in iOS to transfer it—it can't be placed on the Home screen.

In contrast, Sidecar is designed to be a secondary display for your Mac, so it works like any other secondary display you might use with your Mac, bringing a larger desktop to macOS screen space. Using Sidecar, you can drag windows from your Mac to your iPad and vice versa, and interact with both using your Mac's trackpad.

Notable Features and Limitations

Universal Control does not require any complex setup and works almost automatically, although you can adjust some controls or disable it completely. For example, in the current beta, you can disable the ability for your Mac's cursor to connect to a nearby Mac or iPad by pushing the edges of the display. You can also prevent your Mac from automatically reconnecting to any nearby Mac or iPad you were previously connected to.

Please note that Universal Control requires at least a Mac to use. For example, you can't just use it between two iPads. However, you can use Universal Control between Macs without involving your iPad. Aside from the caveat of at least one Mac, there seems to be no limit to how many devices you can control using just one keyboard and trackpad/mouse. Universal Control is limited to mouse/trackpad and keyboard support. For example, you can't use Apple Pencil with Universal Control.

With Sidecar, you can use your Apple Pencil (1st or 2nd generation, depending on your iPad) as a mouse replacement for clicking, selecting, and other on-screen macOS control tasks. When you use Apple Pencil with Sidecar, it acts like a mouse or trackpad.

In apps like Photoshop and Illustrator, “Apple Pencil” does more. You can draw directly in Photoshop or other similar Mac applications, which converts the ‌iPad‌ into a graphics tablet for your Mac, unlike a Wacom graphics tablet.

Sidecar also has the option of adding a Touch Bar to the bottom of the iPad, which is the same Touch Bar found on MacBook Pro models. These Touch Bar controls can appear on your iPad screen even if your Mac doesn't have a Touch Bar itself.

Should I use Sidecar or Universal Control?

Should you use Sidecar or Universal Control on Mac and iPad? The question really comes down to your personal use case.

If you want to extend your macOS desktop space to your iPad screen and don't plan to use iPadOS, the simple answer is to use Sidecar. If you want to use your iPad and Apple Pencil to draw or illustrate what you're working on in a Mac app, Sidecar is the way to go.

Universal Control is ideal if you want to control multiple Macs and iPads using the same input device and are willing to live with some of the interoperability limitations between macOS and iPadOS (such as drag and drop) solution.

Can I use Universal Control and Sidecar at the same time?

If you have enough iPads and Macs, you can actually use Sidecar and Universal Control at the same time, enjoying the best of both worlds.

For example, you can connect your Mac to one iPad via Sidecar to get extra macOS screen space, and on the other side of the Mac, you can use the Mac's keyboard and trackpad to control the second iPad iPad or Mac.

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