macOS Catalina, unveiled at WWDC, introduced a new wireless continuity feature. Called Sidecar, it provides the option of using an iPad as a second screen for a Mac.
Sidecar + Apple Pencil
As well as being a secondary display, an iPad becomes a high-precision drawing tablet in a number of Mac apps with Sidecar. The Apple Pencil and iPad can be used to draw, sketch or write in Mac apps that support stylus input. Apps set to allow items to be edited, drawn or marked up with an Apple Pencil include Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Illustrator and the iWork suite. Commenting on the forthcoming feature, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said:
Users will appreciate how they can expand their workspace with Sidecar, enabling new ways of interacting with Mac apps using iPad and Apple Pencil.
This has always belonged in the OS, and Apple has the ability to actually do it right so that it “just works.”
And no more awful subscriptions to some third-party app like Astropad Pro or Duet Pro simply to use the iPad and Apple Pencil as a Mac touchscreen.
I am surprised that it took Apple so long to deliver on this obvious “killer app” for Mac and iPad owners, but I’m really glad they did, and I expect more Mac users to consider buying an iPad and an Apple Pencil if they don’t already own them.