Apple exec shares behind-the-scenes story of making universal controls and shortcuts

For Bhardwaj, he explained that he uses both an iPad Pro and a Mac, and "one of the things that causes friction" is switching between the two. "It's clunky. Universal Control removes that friction, so I use my iPad with my Mac."

"One of the things we're trying to achieve with Universal Control is continuity," the the executive explained. He also mentioned technologies that have helped build iPad and Mac functionality over the years, such as AirDrop, Handoff, SideCar, and the ability to unlock your Mac using an Apple Watch. "When you think about technology like Bluetooth Low Energy, knowing where the device is, all those low-level technologies, and that switching experience, Universal Control is really just the next step in that continuity."

After months of delays, Universal Control is finally released as a beta feature in macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4. This feature allows Apple customers to seamlessly use their Mac’s keyboard and trackpad simply by moving their cursor from one screen to another.

"We designed Universal Control with Macs and iPads in mind. So it's more about pairing those two devices together and getting the most out of it. Many Mac users have iPads, so it's Extending this functionality to them is a very powerful experience. (…) These are not just two devices, these are two different platforms."

Speaking of shortcuts, AppStories' John Voorhees asked Vivek Bhardwaj about the latest feature in iOS 15.4, which allows users to not receive notifications when a shortcut is running. Even if you select this option, Voorhees says Shortcuts will eventually let users know a summary of the shortcuts running in the background.

"Privacy and security are paramount to us when we design features like this. We just want to make sure the user is in control and that the system and device are transparent. This is your Something that can be turned off, but we still want to make sure users are notified and let them know."

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