Your Mac and iPad already make an incredibly powerful pair. With the Sidecar feature in macOS and iPadOS, they do even more—together.
Sidecar-optimized apps bring out the best in both devices: Annotate a PDF or screenshot on your iPad with your Apple Pencil, then insert that into a document on your Mac. Or use your iPad to draw, sketch, write, and edit directly in a Mac app.
Here’s a quick guide to using Sidecar—and the apps that make the most of this powerful feature.
Make a connection
To enable Sidecar, open Control Center on your Mac, click Display, and choose your iPad. (In macOS Catalina, choose your iPad from your Mac’s AirPlay menu.)
That’s it!
The feature works wirelessly over Wi-Fi. To charge your iPad while you work, connect it to your Mac with a cable.
By default, your iPad shows your Mac’s desktop and menu bar, the Sidecar sidebar, and a Touch Bar for apps that support it. To move or disable these, choose Sidecar Preferences from Control Center’s Display section. (In macOS Catalina, choose Open Sidecar Preferences from the AirPlay menu.)
Expand your space
Want to move a window from your Mac over to your iPad, or vice versa? Just drag it normally or hover over the window’s green button, then chose the appropriate option.
You can also move your Mac’s Dock to your iPad. Just tap the Dock button at the top of the iPad sidebar.
Get some input
When a Mac app is displayed on your iPad screen, you can use familiar gestures like pinch-to-zoom, or use your Apple Pencil in lieu of a mouse or trackpad for drawing, clicking, dragging, and more.
You can also use your iPad’s onscreen keyboard to type in Mac apps—to bring it up, tap the keyboard icon in your iPad’s sidebar.
Mirror your Mac
Use your Apple Pencil and iPad to draw, sketch, or mark up documents in any Mac app. Just mirror your Mac’s screen on your iPad by choosing Mirror in Control Center’s Display section. (In macOS Catalina, choose Mirror from the AirPlay menu.)
All Mac apps work with Sidecar, but some offer specific features and Apple Pencil support. Here are a few to take for a spin:
Adobe Lightroom
Edit, manage and share photos
Pixelmator Pro
Pro image editing for everyone
Affinity Photo 2
Professional photo editing
Amadine - Vector Design & Art
Graphic Design Illustrator
OmniGraffle 7
Graphics & Design
Goodnotes 6
Notes Reimagined.
Notability: Notes, PDF
Note-Taking Beyond Paper
MindNode – Mind Map & Outline
Mind Mapping, Brainstorm Ideas
Noted: Record, AI-Transcribe
Sync Audio & Note-Taking
Final Cut Pro
Professional post-production
Polarr Pro Photo Editor
Simple, powerful editing tools
TouchRetouch: Object Removal
Quick repairs and cloning
Logic Pro
Professional music production
Things 3
Organize your life
Affinity Designer 2
Professional Graphic Design
Hype 4
Create HTML5 animations
QuarkXPress
Love Print, Live Digital
Sparkle, Visual Web Design
Build amazing websites
Capo
Learn more songs in less time