Apple’s New Universal Control Feature Could Be Used in These Exciting Ways

Universal Control offers more ways to manage complex setups easily. Here are a few exciting examples.
macOS Monterey Universal Control 3 Credit: Apple
Text Size
- +

Toggle Dark Mode

Apple’s upcoming update for macOS includes quite a few improvements we can’t wait to start using – and one of the most interesting new features for busy professionals and others who literally have a lot on their desks is called Universal Control.

Remember the feature Apple added a couple of years ago called Sidecar? It linked your iPad to your MacBook so you could share content and gain touchscreen benefits on a secondary screen while working on your Mac..

Basically, Universal Control is a much more advanced version of the same trick and offers more opportunities to manage complex setups seamlessly.

This might sound a little confusing. Here’s what we’re talking about.

Use Your iPad as a Second Screen to Keep All of Your Research Organized in One Spot

Do you like using a second screen to consult sources or find additional information but prefer the speedy results you can get on Mac? Just set up your iPad beside your Mac – the Universal Control connection uses Wi-Fi Direct and should be automatically enabled when the two devices are close together (as long as they are on the same iCloud account).

Now, get the information you need with some speedy tab searching on your Mac. And when you’re ready, use your mouse to drag the content you want to save to the side of the screen where your iPad is waiting, as if the iPad was an extension of the screen.

Your cursor should now appear over on your iPad (and now is the bubble shape that iPadOS supports), carrying your content with it, allowing you to quickly drop important information there for later consultation while you continue to work on your Mac.

This also works with documents like PDFs and other files you may need for serious research.

Drag and Drop Photos, Videos, or Music for Editing on Your Preferred Device

You can also easily drag photos or other media from your iPad to your Mac without the need to change your mouse or keyboard, which opens up plenty of opportunities. For example, suppose you are using native storage for some photos you took out on a hike and transferred to your iPad. In that case, you can set your iPad up beside your Mac, then drag a good photo over to your Mac for more serious editing before you share it (you can also use your keyboard to search for a particular iPad file with this setup).

Another example that Apple also gives is sketching something freeform on your iPad, then dragging it to a Keynote app on your Mac to place it on a slide for a later showing – nice for artists and those who prefer to annotate on a touchscreen. It’s a more advanced way of compensating for the lack of a touchscreen on Macs, a limitation that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

The reverse of our previous example is also possible, so you can also drag and drop content from your Mac to your iPad for a bit of quick work. This pairs nicely with the Apple Pen, so you could drop a PDF over on your iPad, scribble on it a bit to annotate or tweak it, then flip it back to your Mac for quick sharing!

In addition to this handy back and forth, there may simply be apps you prefer to use with the touchscreen/mouse combination that the iPad provides, so you can drop files from your Mac to an iPad for work in the environment you prefer more.

Designate One Device as a Centralized Hub

For traditional media management, you don’t even need to connect an iPad or MacBook to use it as a control hub for your music, etc. – you can just set it up beside your primary Mac computer – but Universal Control allows for more detailed management. For example, let’s say you’re editing an audio file or downloading new music on your iPad, but you store and play your music primarily on your MacBook, which is already the default device for your preferred speaker setup, etc. Save time by dragging the finished file over to your MacBook and use it to play on the superior audio system – it would work with iPad, too if you prefer touchscreen controls for playback.

Or let’s say you are trying to show off a slideshow to your friends on your iMac, but it’s saved on your much smaller MacBook. You can set drag the slideshow from your MacBook over to your larger iMac so everyone can see it (also great for working with graphic design clients, etc.).

Designate Three Different Devices for Work, Entertainment, and Communications

Universal Control supports up to three Apple devices and allows you to pick which one is your default device, so there’s plenty of room to manage further complications.

One option is to set up an iMac, MacBook, and iPad altogether on your desk and link them into three interchangeable screens. This allows you to drag content across every device and designate each device for a certain task without giving up your preferred keyboard and mouse control.

The multitasking management possibilities are numerous – you essentially have three automatically connected displays to work with here, and each can specialize in what you need.

If you’re working with a partner who needs to step in, they can do so any time on their preferred device, and the controls will follow them. Pretty slick.

Use Two Macs for Twice the Power

You don’t need a one-of-each approach with Universal Control: From what Apple has said, you should also be able to connect larger screens together. That allows you to repurpose a secondary iMac as a second monitor if you prefer. The extra screen space and power of two iMacs working together may be a dream come true for heavy visual editing and design work.

Want a new Mac to take full advantage of Universal Control? Shop three of the best new Macs below, all of which feature Apple’s top-of-the-line M1 processor.

Sponsored
Social Sharing