Ever since it was announced at WWDC 2021 alongside Apple software updates, users have been waiting for Universal Control to come to Mac and iPad, and it's finally here.
Available for testing in beta versions of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3, the feature allows you to control a mouse on a Mac and an iPad at the same time. In this mode, you can drag and drop files between devices without having to send files or use a cloud service to do so.
Universal Control was supposed to arrive in October with the release of iPadOS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey, but has suffered from delays, likely due to the complications that sharing files between two different devices could cause.
But so far in testing it works great, and for anyone with both devices, it's much easier to manage their content side by side.
Analysis: It works, and it's fantastic
Setting up the feature is a simple process, go to System Preferences > Display on your Mac and check that your iPad is showing.
If so, you can set it so the tablet sits to the left or right of the Mac, and you're good to go.
Users are already showing off the feature on Twitter, mousing over multiple devices as if they were connected to each other.
My God, Universal Control is amazing. This is me going from a MacBook Pro to an iPad mini to an iPad Pro using just the MacBook's trackpad and keyboard. It recognizes position, lets you drag files, and supports iPadOS gestures. The hype was real and it all just works 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PWUTLYZtkWJanuary 27, 2022
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iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 don't just bring Universal Control, there's also a keyboard brightness setting for your iPad, making it much easier to manage in Control Center. There's also a FaceID option for masks, which allows your iPhone and iPad to scan your face while wearing a mask, without using an Apple Watch to authenticate like before.
If it was the iOS 9 era, chances are we would have seen these features at WWDC with iOS 16, wrapped up like a big marquee announcement. But in recent years, we've seen features throughout the year, like trackpad support coming to iPadOS 13.4 in March 2020.
With Universal Control scheduled to hit everyone in the next couple of months, it makes us wonder what might be coming to macOS 13 this year, and for users, it's a huge win.