Today on my microcast, Technology Bytes, I discuss Apple’s Universal Control.
What is Universal Control? Universal Control is a combination software and hardware technology that Apple developed to make interoperability between their devices easier. Basically, Universal Control allows one mouse and keyboard to control multiple hardware devices simultaineously. In my situation Universal Control allows me to use my iMac’s mouse and keyboard to control my MacBook Air, my iMac and my iPad.
How does it work? If I knew the answer to that question I would probably be working for Apple. I am sure software developers could explain the function but from my point of view it is pure magic. I just know that it works and makes me a more productive user. More on this later.
What are the requirements? In order for one to use Universal Control their devices must be “fairly” modern and running one of Apple’s more modern operating systems. This link will take you to Apple’s definition of the requirements. In general you need a Mac running, at a minimum, macOS Monterey 12.4 and if you are using an iPad it must be running at least iPadOS 15.4. Hardware requirements are Macs from 2016 and on, all iPad Pros or an iPad from that same era. See the link above for more details.
My setup is a 2023(purchased in) iMac 24” middle of the road model. A 2021 MacBook Air one step up from the base model and a 2022 iPad Pro. All of my devices have the same M1 chip with 8GB of RAM and 256GB harddrives. I am running the latest Beta version of the operating systems on all of my devices and I run stage manager on all my systems as well.
Recently I decided to upgrade my monitor realestate at work. Work is all PC environment so I purchase my own hardware since I live in the Apple ecosystem. I went to the Apple Store and was looking at the Studio Display as an option. I hooked one to my iPad and was very excited to see it work. Stage manager allowed me to run 5 apps on my iPad and an additional 5 separate apps on the Studio Display. I also knew it would work with my MacBook Air. The one limitation was that I could only hook up one device at a time to the Studio Display.
Then I saw the 24” iMac on the adjacent table and wondered if I could use that and Universal Control as an option. I couldn’t try to system in-store as they would not allow me to login on the iMac with my Apple ID, a requirement for Universal Control. The only option was to purchase and return if it didn’t work to my satisfaction. Although the screen is smaller, 24” versus 27”, the cost was about $400 less so I decided to give it a try.
I have not returned the iMac. Universal Control works so well. I have significantly increased my screen realestate while adding another CPU to power my work operations. Controlling all three devices with one mouse and keyboard makes it work much like a second screen with universal copy and paste and the ability to drag and drop between devices. I also can use the iMac by itself when I don’t need a second screen. I am totally enjoying the experience.
I have had a few connection issues but I am thinking that might be tied to the use of Beta operating systems. One drawback is the lack of troubleshooting that can be done to make Universal Control operation return. If always requires a reboot of one system or the other. The iPad always works and is a good test to help me determine which system needs a reboot, iMac or MacBook Air.
Some might think that keeping multiple computers “synced” would be an issue. However, with iCloud and the requirement of the same Apple ID it works great. My systems are always synced. I also use Safari Tab Groups extensively and it is nice to have all three systems Safari synced in real time.
I am a very happy customer. Try and you may be the same. Sold.
