Technologies

Mac Owners: Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor for Your Computer

If your computer’s screen isn’t enough, use your iPad as a secondary display.

Even if you have a large Mac screen, it may not always be enough. Many people invest in a second monitor to get some breathing room when they’re gaming, streaming and multitasking. However, if you don’t want to spend money on another device that takes up space, you may not have to — with an iPad, you can get dual displays for free.

As long as you have a Mac and iPad that are compatible, you can quickly and easily connect the two Apple devices and use the iPad as an extra display for your Mac computer. Using Sidecar, which comes built-in to supported devices, you can either extend your MacOS desktop or just mirror it onto your iPad, equipped with touchscreen controls to seamlessly use the two devices together. Here’s what you need to know.

In the market for an iPad? Here is a list of the best iPad choices for 2023 and the best deals on iPads.

Requirements to use your iPad as a second display

As mentioned above, both of your devices need to support Sidecar, which is the feature that allows you to use your iPad as a second monitor for your Mac. For your Mac, you must be running MacOS Catalina or later and it has to be one of the following models:

MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
MacBook (2016 or later)
MacBook Air (2018 or later)
iMac (2017 or later and Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
iMac Pro
Mac Mini (2018 or later)
Mac Pro (2019 or later)
Mac Studio

And for your iPad, it must be running iPadOS 13 or later and be one of the following models:

iPad Pro
iPad (6th generation or later)
iPad Mini (5th generation or later)
iPad Air (3rd generation or later)

It’s best to update your devices to the latest software available to avoid any issues. Also, both devices must be logged in to the same Apple ID account, using two-factor authentication.

If you plan on going wireless, the two devices must be within 30 feet of one another. You can also use your USB to connect the two devices, with the advantage of being able to also charge your iPad while it’s in use as a second monitor.

Share your entire Mac desktop to your iPad

Depending on what software update you have on your computer, sharing your computer desktop to your tablet may vary. If you’re running MacOS Big Sur or later, click the Display icon in the menu bar at the top right. In the menu that appears, choose your iPad.

If you’re on MacOS Catalina, you’ll instead click on the AirPlay icon in the menu bar and then select your iPad. If for some reason you don’t see the AirPlay icon, click the Apple menu in the top right and go to System Preferences > Displays and check Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available.

Display menu on Mac — Click the Display option in the menu bar to find your iPad.

Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Once your Mac and iPad are connected, you have several options to choose from that appear in the Display/AirPlay menu:

Mirror Built-in Retina Display: Mirror your exact desktop to your iPad. This will shift your computer desktop to look more like your iPad.
Use As Separate Display: Use the iPad as an extension to your desktop. To use your iPad display, drag any window or files from your Mac computer to the right of your screen, which will take you to the tablet. To go back to your computer, simply drag your cursor back to where you came from.

Share only one Mac window to your iPad

Alternatively, you can quickly share a window instead of dragging it over to your iPad. For example, you could share your web browser in Safari or what you’ve jotted down in your Notes. To do this, simply hover your mouse cursor over the green full-screen button that appears on the top left of most windows. After a second of hovering, you should see an option that says «Move to iPad,» which will share that window to your tablet. You can share multiple windows, in succession, to your iPad.

Share window via Safari — Hover over the full-screen button to send that window to your iPad.

Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Using the sidebar controls, gestures and Touch Bar on your iPad

Once your screen is shared over to your iPad, a set of controls will appear on the left side of your iPad, which are sidebar controls you’ll commonly see on your Mac. That includes, from top to bottom:

Menu bar: Show or hide menu bar when in full-screen
Dock: Show or hide dock
Command: Double-tap to lock key
Option: Double-tap to lock key
Control: Double-tap to lock key
Shift: Double-tap to lock key
Undo: Undo last action
Keyboard: Show or hide keyboard
Disconnect: Disconnect iPad from Mac

In addition to these Mac controls, you can also use a number of swipe gestures to control certain things on the second monitor (you won’t be able to use the touchscreen as usual though). That includes swiping with two fingers to scroll, pinching in with three fingers to copy, swiping left with three fingers to undo and more.

And finally, you may also be able to use the Touch Bar, if the application on your iPad is compatible. For instance, if you move Safari over to the iPad, you’ll see Touch Bar controls to go back and forward, use the search bar, flip between tabs and open a new tab. In Messages, you would see controls to create a new text, send an emoji and predictive text. The Touch Bar may not appear for every app you use on your iPad.

iPad monitor — This is what your iPad will look like as a second monitor.

Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

If you don’t want to use the Sidebar or Touch Bar controls, you can also get rid of them. On your Mac, click on the Display icon in the menu bar, and underneath your connected iPad, you should see Hide SideBar and Hide Touch Bar. Click on either or both options to hide the controls from your iPad.

Using your iPad while connected to your Mac

Even if you’re using your iPad as a second monitor, you can still swipe up to exit the Sidecar application and use your iPad as usual. In your dock, you’ll see a blue icon with two monitors on it — this is Sidecar. To go back to using your iPad as a second monitor, tap on the Sidecar app icon in the dock.

iPad user interface — You can use your iPad as usual, even when connected to a Mac via Sidecar.

Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

If you’re interested in learning more about what your iPad is capable of, check out how to declutter your iPad dock by removing this annoying feature and nine things to do immediately after you get a new iPad.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 18, #707

Hints and answers for Connections for May 18, #707.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle is a mix of difficult and easy. The purple category does what most purple categories do, and makes you really break down how you think about the words. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: School days.

Green group hint: About there!

Blue group hint: Sure, let’s go.

Purple group hint: The Scarlett Letter.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tasks for a student.

Green group: Encouraging responses in a guessing game.

Blue group: Up for anything.

Purple group: What «A» might mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tasks for a student. The four answers are assignment, drill, exercise and lesson.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is encouraging responses in a guessing game. The four answers are almost, close, not quite and warm.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is up for anything. The four answers are easy, flexible, game and open.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «A» might mean. The four answers are area, athletic, excellent and one.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 18, #441

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 441 for May 18.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands will probably be easier if you have some basic knowledge about a certain type of vessel. You don’t really need to have ever been on one, since the answers show up in books and movies all the time. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Riding the wind.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: famed song by Christopher Cross.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DULL, TILE, TILER, SEER, GALE, GALES, HAIL, SAIL, LEEK, GLUE, HALL, TALL, HEAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

HELM, HULL, KEEL, MAST, STERN, RIGGING, RUDDER, TILLER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SAILBOAT. To find it, start with the S that’s four letters down on the farthest row to the left, then wind across, up and down.

Technologies

Google I/O 2025: How to Watch and What to Expect

With Android 16 out of the way, Google I/O will certainly be all about AI.

Google I/O 2025 takes place on May 20 and 21 with Google’s big keynote happening on day 1. We expect Big G to talk about its myriad innovations across its ever-expanding portfolio of products — almost certainly with a huge focus on AI every step of the way. If we collectively cross our fingers, promise to be good and eat all our vegetables then we may even be treated to a sneak peek at upcoming hardware.

Read more: Android 16: Everything Google Announced at the Android Show

Google also hosted a totally separate event that focused solely on Android. The Android Show: I/O Edition saw the wrappers come off Android 16, with insights into the new Material 3 Expressive interface, updates to security and a focus on Gemini and how it’ll work on a variety of other devices.

By breaking out Android news into its own virtual event, Google frees itself to spend more time during the I/O keynote to talk about Gemini, Deep Mind, Android XR and Project Astra. It’s going to be a jam-packed event, so here’s how you can watch I/O 2025 as it happens and what you can look forward to.

Google I/O: Where to watch

Google I/O proper kicks off with a keynote taking place on May 20, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. BST). It’ll almost certainly be available to stream online on Google’s own YouTube channel, although a holding video is yet to be available. There’s no live link on the I/O website yet, either, though you can use the handy links to add the event to your calendar of choice. Expect links to a livestream to be available closer to the day.

What to expect from Google I/O 2025

Little chat about Android 16: As Google gave Android 16 its own outing already, it’s likely that it won’t be mentioned all that much during I/O. In fact at last year’s event, Android was barely mentioned, while uses of the term «AI» went well over a hundred.

Android XR: Google didn’t talk much about Android XR during the Android show, focusing instead on the purely phone-based updates to the platform. We expected to hear more about the company’s latest foray into mixed-reality headsets in partnership with Samsung and its Project Moohan headset, so it’s possible that this is being saved for I/O proper.

Gemini: With Android being spun out into its own separate event, Google is evidently clearing the way for I/O to focus on everything else the company does. AI will continue to dominate the conversation at I/O, just as it did last year (though hopefully Google can make it more understandable) with updates to many of its AI platforms expected to be announced.

Gemini is expected to receive a variety of update announcements, including more information on its latest 2.5 Pro update which boasts various improvements to its reasoning abilities, and in particular to its helpfulness for coding applications. Expect lots of mentions of Google’s other AI-based products, too, including DeepMind, LearnLM and Project Astra. Let’s just hope Google has figured out how to make this information make any kind of sense.

Beyond AI, Google may talk about updates to its other products including GMail, Chrome and the Play Store, although whether these updates are big enough to be discussed during the keynote rather than as part of the developer-focused sessions following I/O’s opening remains to be seen.