Apple macOS 12.3 first beta release: support for universal control

IT House January 29 news, just one day after the release of the developer preview, Apple today pushed the first public beta version of macOS Monterey 12.3, bringing users long-awaited universal control functions.

Users can download profiles through the IT Home App - Discovery - Apple Profiles and download the new version of macOS Monterey Beta via Software Update in System Preferences.

MacOS 12.3 Beta brings Universal Control universal control, and iPadOS 15.4 Beta also supports. This feature allows a keyboard or mouse to control multiple Mac computers or iPads at the same time. After two system updates, the feature is enabled by default. On Mac computers, users can find it by going to show the advanced menu, and on iPad, there is a new "cursor and keyboard (beta)" option in the "General" menu under the "AirPlay & Handoff" section in Settings.

When turned on, any Mac or iPad nearby logged into the same Apple account can use the same cursor or keyboard, provided there is at least one Mac.

Here are the specific steps to use the generic control function:

1. The first time you connect your Mac and iPad by moving the pointer to the edge of the screen, you'll see icons for the devices you want to connect to.

2. For desktop Mac devices that you want to use universal control features all the time, such as desktop workstations consisting of iMac and MacBook, you can set them to support universal control continuously in System Preferences. This way, you don't need to manipulate the cursor to connect two devices and can use the universal control function directly.

If at least one of these devices is portable, such as an iPad or MacBook, you must reconnect via push each time the device moves out of range or goes to sleep.

3. If you want to change the placement of your devices after connecting, you can always do this in Display Preferences, which is the same as connecting an external monitor. This setting allows the pointer to move smoothly between different screens without sudden jumps across screens. At the same time, you can also set this up, for example, if you've set the trigger angle in the lower-right corner of your Mac to Start Quick Notes and don't want that part of the screen edge for universal control.