How to Use Universal Control for Apple Devices
To use Universal Control, you need to have a Mac running at least macOS Monterey (11.7) and an iPad running iPadOS 15.4 or later. The feature isn’t available with earlier versions of either operating system. If you have a compatible Mac and iPad, you can enable Universal Control by adjusting settings on both. Here’s how to enable and use Universal Control:
What Is Universal Control?
Universal Control is a feature built on top of the Continuity and Handoff features present in macOS and iOS for a while. In addition to the existing functionality of those features, Universal Control lets you share a single mouse and keyboard between a Mac and one or more iPads. You can share the built-in keyboard and touchpad of a MacBook with your iPad, the wireless Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 from your iMac to your iPad, or any other keyboard and mouse combination that’s connected to a compatible Mac.
How Does Universal Control Work on Apple Devices?
Once you’ve enabled Universal Control on your Mac and at least one iPad, moving the iPad into proximity with the Mac will cause the two to connect behind the scenes. At that point, you can move your mouse cursor to one side of the display and keep moving it until it appears on your iPad. It works a lot like moving your mouse between displays if you have multiple monitors, except it’s wireless and automatic. Once your mouse cursor appears on your iPad, you can also use your Mac’s keyboard with the iPad as well. Then when you’re ready to start using the Mac again, all you have to do is move the mouse cursor to the edge of your iPad display and keep moving it until it appears back on your Mac display. The mouse and keyboard will then return to working with the Mac. Dragging and dropping files between devices works the same way, except you have to click and drag a file before moving your mouse to the edge of the screen. Then, when the mouse appears on the other device, you can drop the file, and a copy will appear on the other device. Universal Control uses proximity to determine connectivity, and you can have multiple devices connected. When you have multiple devices set up to use Universal Control, it will move your cursor to the device you used most recently. So if you have multiple iPads connected to the same Mac through Universal Control, you can choose which one to send your mouse cursor to by waking it up or tapping the touch screen before moving your mouse.
