Luna Display on the App Store (opens in new tab) The Luna app doesn't have any additional controls, functioning only has a display, albeit one with a little extra capability. These tools can include things like brushes or a color picker in artistic apps, or different pen strokes or styles in a note-taking app, and can let you focus on using your iPad without having to navigate back your Mac's primary display to change tools.įor Luna Display, that story is a little more complicated. Third-party apps can add support for Sidecar, including special toolbars and other interface elements that pop up on the bottom of your iPad's screen when you're using an optimized app. In fact, once you've set it up with using another external monitor, you could potentially use your iPad as your only display for your Mac. Conversley, Luna lets you, if you so choose, use your iPad as your primary display. Sidecar is actually fairly strict about keeping the iPad as a second display. Sidecar and Luna both extend your Mac's desktop environment to a second display. You need a Mac from at least 2011 running macOS 10.11 El Capitan or later, as well as an iPad 2 or newer (including all models of iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini) running iOS 9.1 or later. Meanwhile, Luna Display is compatible with hardware that's getting close to a decade old. MacBook Pro introduced in 2016 or later. MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later.Sidecar requires newer Macs and newer iPads. One of the biggest differences between Sidecar and Luna Display is the hardware they support. For a lot of people, Sidecar is going to be the right solution.įor more advanced users, however, even with newer Macs and iPads running Catalina and iPadOS 13.1, there are reasons to choose Luna over Sidecar. The functionality is all just there in macOS and iPadOS. There's no extra hardware to buy, and no companion apps that you need to install. If you do have a newer Mac and a newer iPad, it's a very convenient option for using your iPad as a second display, and even as a drawing tablet if you have an Apple Pencil. Sidecar has two mains strengths over Luna Display: it's built directly into macOS, and, related to that, it's free. If you use some older hardware that still runs well, Luna is a great solution. Luna also supports iPads going all the way back to the iPad 2 in 2011, while Sidecar needs either any generation of iPad Pro or an iPad, iPad Air, or iPad mini released in 2018 or 2019. On the flip side, Luna Display only requires Macs from 2011 or later. You need to be running a Mac from 2016 or later in order to connect using Sidecar. Otherwise, Luna's your best bet here.Įven if your Mac runs macOS Catalina, you might still be out of luck for Sidecar. Sidecar requires macOS Catalina, so you'll need to update to macOS Catalina first if you want to use that feature. If your Mac is running anything older than macOS Catalina, and will do so for the foreseeable future, then Luna Display is your only choice of these two. $69.99 for hardware component (Luna Display app is free)Ģ016 Macs and later running at least macOS Catalina 10.15Ģ011 Macs and later running at least macOS El Capitan 10.11Ģ015 iPad Pro or newer, 2018 iPad and later, 2019 iPad Air and iPad mini running at least iPadOS 13.1Īny iPad released in or after 2011, running at least iOS 9.1 That means you'll be taking up two of your Mac's ports, though this might not be much of a difficulty depending on how you're using Luna Display and which model of Mac you're using. Even when using a wired connection, you'll still need to have the Luna Display hardware plugged into your Mac. The other limitation is one that only applies to Luna Display. This means that you'll need to have at least one USB port open in order to get Sidecar or Luna to work. You need to plug your iPad directly into your Mac, rather than indirectly through a dock or hub. The first limitation of a wired connection applies to both Sidecar and Luna Display. But there are certain caveats that you need to understand before you plunge on in. This is achieved by some version of USB-to-USB-C or USB-to-Lightning cable. Though both Sidecar and Luna Display seem to prefer wireless connections to your Mac, both can be used in a wired configuration. Luna gets the benefits of graphics acceleration because it works properly with your GPU. This is opposed to different software-based second display solutions that trick your Mac's graphics card into thinking that a second display is connected. Luna Display works by plugging into your Mac and uses its GPU directly to provide a smooth user experience no-to-very low lag. It's also a hardware product, and the two really can't be separated. It's important to note here that Luna Display isn't just a free iPadOS app with a companion on macOS.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |