After WWDC21, I immediately upgraded my iPad and MacBook to the beta system, and happily fiddled with their positions on the desktop, and then came to a sad conclusion: Universal Control, which caught everyone's attention at the conference, did not land in the first beta.
And this wait, that is, 7 months, even from the release of the official version to now, it has been 3 months.
In December 2021, Apple announced that the Universal Control feature will be delayed until the spring of 2022. But given that tech companies often understand the four seasons differently than we do, it's a bit of a concern to be able to go live. It wasn't until the iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3 beta releases that we put our minds at ease: apple's spring was really spring.
What is universal control and is it easy to use? We've collected some questions about the use of Universal Control on the web, and with a Q&A, we've revealed this long-awaited, slightly mysterious new apple ecosystem feature.
Q: What are the requirements for the equipment and system if you want to use universal control?
A: First of all, the universal control function has not been officially launched, and it is now only available on the beta versions of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3. The beta system is unstable and it is not recommended to upgrade on the main model.
▲ My MacBook Pro has been upgraded to macOS 12.3 Beta
On the device side, Universal Control is available for MacBook Pro (2016 and onwards), MacBook (2016 and follow-on), MacBook Air (2018 and follow-on), iMac (2017 and follow-up), iMac (27-inch with 5K Retina display, late 2015), iMac Pro, Mac mini (2018 and follow-on models), and Mac Pro (2019). model of the year).
and iPad Pro, iPad Air (3rd and later), iPad (6th and later), and iPad mini (5th and later).
Note that if you're not using a model in this range, you won't be able to use this feature even if you upgrade to the latest beta system. The next experience, using the MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) as well as the iPad mini (sixth generation) and 11-inch iPad Pro (third generation), all upgraded to the latest beta version.
Q: My device meets the requirements and has been upgraded to a beta system, are there any other requirements?
A: If your equipment and system meet the requirements, you still need to do the following:
All devices need to use the same Apple ID and have two-factor authentication turned on;
If you're connected wirelessly, you'll need to turn on Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and relay capabilities at no more than 10 meters away, or if you're wired, you'll need to select Trust Mac devices on your iPad.
Devices cannot be more than 10 meters (30 feet) away.
Although it may seem complicated, it's all about using the basic setup of Apple devices, and for most people, all that's to do is upgrade the system and put the device on the same desktop.
Q: How many devices can be connected, how do I operate them?
A: The universal control function can support up to 3 devices, but according to the actual experience, there must be at least 1 Mac in these three devices, and if you want to connect with two iPads, it is not possible.
After you place the device on the desktop, you need to move the mouse pointer of your Mac to the left and right edges of the screen, and the iPad and Mac will show the connection effect, continue to move to the edge, and the connection is successful.
▲ The MacBook on the right is connected to the iPad on the left
If your 3 devices are placed on the desktop at the same time and unlocked, they will connect sequentially, as if in no order. In my experience, for example, the MacBook Pro randomly connects to the iPad Pro or iPad mini (but iPad Pro a little more often) and then moves the mouse pointer toward the edge of the other side of the MacBook screen to connect to another iPad.
Although you must turn on the connection form of each left and right device from the MacBook side, you can also place the iPad on the same side in the Display Settings of the MacBook after connecting.
The first connection is slightly slower because it needs to be confirmed, and the subsequent operation is very smooth. Turn on "Automatically reconnect to any nearby Mac or iPad" in the settings, and when the device meets the connection conditions, it can automatically connect and improve efficiency.
Q: What is the difference between Universal Control and the previous companion?
A: MacOS Catalina 2019 brought us the companion feature, which aims to turn iPad into an extended screen for Macs, allowing us to use iPad as a temporary external screen for Macs and get extra workspace.
▲ MacBook and iPad that "run" PS at the same time
Universal control is also for better use of the screen, but it "cast" is not the screen of the Mac, but the mouse and keyboard of the Mac, operating on the iPad, is still the iPad app.
▲ Use the MacBook's trackpad to operate the iPad mini
Q: How does my Mac know where my iPad is?
A: While I'm not sure, it's highly likely that your Mac doesn't know which side of your iPad is.
Before the release of Universal Control, I guessed that Apple might use technologies such as gyroscopes or ultra-wideband to locate and determine the location of the iPad. After the actual experience, I feel that I should think too much.
Apple uses a very simple logic: If you move the mouse to the far left of your Mac screen, the one you want to connect to must be the far right of another device. So, as long as when you move the mouse to the far left, by default you put the iPad on the left side of the computer and connect the iPad from the right side.
As an example, the mouse that moves out of the left side of the MacBook appears on the right side of the iPad, even if the iPad is in front of the MacBook.
If you want to connect your iPad to a different location (such as from left to right), you'll need to turn off, light up, reconnect, or adjust the position in your Mac's display settings.
Q: Can I control my computer with the keyboard of my iPad?
A: The answer is no.
We tried to control the MacBook using the iPad's magic keyboard, but when we dragged the cursor to the edge of the screen, it didn't show a hint of connection, but the same distance, the same network environment, the MacBook can easily connect to the iPad.
▲ iPad on the left and MacBook on the right
In other words, if you didn't buy a Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, Universal Controls allows you to have a similar experience to using magic keyboards.
Q: Is the overall operation smooth and how stable is it?
A: Very smooth and stable.
iPadOS and macOS use the same set of trackpad logic, and the keyboard layout is the same, so there is no sense of separation in operation.
There's also almost no lag in keyboard input, such as the text you're seeing now, which I typed on the iPad Pro using the MacBook Pro keyboard.
However, the test also encountered multiple keys that could not be recognized, such as I wanted to enter "()", but because I could not recognize the MacBook keyboard's Shift key input became "90", but after reconnecting, there was no problem. After all, it is still the first beta version, there are bugs and normal, waiting for Apple's follow-up update.
Q: Can I transfer files between devices and at what speed?
A: Yes, but there is a limitation, which comes from iPadOS.
All files on iPad are app-based, so when I drag files from my MacBook to the iPad desktop, they disappear, while dragging photos and files from iPad to Mac doesn't.
Of course, if you open an app on your iPad that can read the contents of a file, such as the files app that comes with your iPad system, there's no problem with dragging.
▲ Drag a photo from your MacBook to an iPad memo
You can pass files, but what about speed? We delivered the same 3.72GB video file from iPad to MacBook Pro with Universal Control and AirDrop. The results were pretty much the same as we had guessed: universal control took 1 minute and 9 seconds, and airdrop took 1 minute and 3 seconds (with timing errors).
This gap, it can be basically concluded that the universal control transfer file uses airdrop technology, but because the universal control is a stable connection between the iPad and the MacBook, it eliminates the steps of finding an object for airdrop and waiting for the connection to be sent, so the actual operation and speed are more convenient than airdrop.
Q: What scenarios are suitable for using the universal control function?
A: With the continuous update of iPadOS, the Safari browser on the iPad side has been very close to the desktop experience, and it is very convenient to consult the data.
If you're used to using iPad to play tutorials or view notes while doing programming exercises or other operations on your MacBook, Universal Controls saves you the trouble of raising your hand to drag the progress bar across the screen.
Therefore, when working with a Mac, you are accustomed to using iPad to consult information, read notes, or when using a Mac, use iPad to play tutorials or chase dramas to watch variety shows, and the universal control function can completely replace the role of the accompanying flight.
In addition, some apps also have universal controls, such as the ability to drag a Layer of Procreate from the app to the Pixellmator Pro on my MacBook. If you like sketching with your iPad and then optimizing for detail in your MacBook, Universal Controls saves you the hassle of exporting and importing.
Because the experience time is relatively short, coupled with the first beta version of Universal Control has just been released, what cross-platform drag and efficient operations are waiting for our subsequent experience and the adaptation of third-party app developers.
▲ You can drag text from notes on iPad to Pages on your Mac
Q: So, is it worth upgrading the system for universal control?
A: Although I often use iPad in my work, the synchronization between iPad and Mac is not to the extent that universal control is necessary:
File transfer: low frequency, occasional transmission of an airdrop is enough;
App collaboration: Ulysses, notes, photos, and reminders are all synced through iCloud, and the same device can complete the work;
In-app asset transfer: As a text worker, there's no need to transfer sketch layers or a page of Keynote from iPad to Mac.
Universal control is convenient and smooth, allowing you to control and drag and drop content between multiple devices through a set of keyboard and mouse. But if you don't want to upgrade to the latest system, it seems that this feature is not yet powerful enough to be worth upgrading for it.
To put it simply, universal control is based on today's Apple connection and interoperability (airdrop, relay, accompanying), and added keyboard and mouse sharing control, so that we can achieve seamless operation between multiple devices, so that independent of each other, touch-screen-based iPadOS and keyboard-mouse-based macOS, you can use a set of keyboard and mouse, to achieve the independence and association of the two.
In the latest beta update, in addition to the universal controls, the iPhone can use Face ID while wearing a mask, and it is also interesting to have more than 100 new emojis on it.
iOS 15.3 official version push and iOS 15.2 is about 1 month apart, if not unexpected, these features will be officially released in early March, then let's see what new ways of playing Universal Control can be.