How to Use an iPad as a Second Display for Mac (Sidecar)

Sidecar turns an iPad into a real second display for your Mac — wirelessly or over a cable — with Apple Pencil input as a bonus. There's nothing to install; it's built into macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia. The only gotchas are the requirements, so let's clear those first.

What Sidecar needs

• Same Apple ID on both devices, with two-factor authentication enabled.
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Handoff on (Handoff lives in System Settings → General → AirDrop & Handoff on the Mac, Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff on the iPad).
• Within about 10 meters for wireless — or any USB cable, which also charges the iPad and removes lag.
• Supported hardware: broadly, Macs from 2016 onward and iPads that support Apple Pencil. Every Mac that runs Ventura or later qualifies except the earliest supported models — if your gear runs macOS 13+ and iPadOS 13+, it almost certainly works.

Connect the iPad

1. Open System Settings → Displays on the Mac.
2. Click the + pop-up menu and choose your iPad under Mirror or extend to.
3. The iPad's screen becomes a Mac display. Alternatively, click Screen Mirroring in Control Center and pick the iPad — same result, fewer clicks.

By default the iPad extends your desktop. To change that, select the iPad in the Displays pane and set Use as to mirror instead — useful for showing someone what you see. While extended, click Arrange… and drag the iPad's rectangle to match where it physically sits, so the pointer crosses naturally.

To disconnect: click the Screen Mirroring icon and choose the iPad again, or tap the disconnect symbol in the iPad's sidebar.

The iPad-side controls

While Sidecar is active, the iPad shows a slim sidebar: tap-and-hold modifier keys (Cmd, Shift, Option, Ctrl) for keyboard-free shortcuts, an on-screen keyboard toggle, undo, and the disconnect button. Along one edge sits a Touch Bar strip with app controls — even on Macs that never had a Touch Bar. Both are optional: with the iPad selected in Displays settings, you can hide the sidebar, move it left or right, and reposition or disable the Touch Bar.

Pencil, touch, and what to expect

• Apple Pencil is a pointer: click, drag, and draw with it directly on Mac apps. Sidecar effectively turns the iPad into a graphics tablet — the killer feature for artists marking up in Mac apps.
• Fingers scroll, but don't click: two-finger scrolling, pinch to zoom, and copy-paste gestures work; single-finger tapping deliberately does not click, to avoid accidental input.
• It's a display, not iPadOS: your iPad apps are one swipe away (Sidecar suspends, not quits), and full-screen Mac apps can occupy the iPad while your main screen stays free.
• Wireless is good, wired is flawless: if you see compression or lag on a busy Wi-Fi network, plug in the cable.

If the iPad doesn't appear

When the iPad is missing from the + menu and Screen Mirroring list, it's almost always one of the requirements quietly unmet. Run the checklist in order: both devices on the same Apple ID (Settings → your name, top of both settings apps); Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on for both; Handoff enabled on both; iPad unlocked and nearby. A VPN or a personal-hotspot connection between the two can also block discovery — and if all else checks out, the classic restart of both devices clears it more often than it should.

Sidecar or Universal Control?

Sidecar makes the iPad show your Mac's screen; Universal Control keeps iPadOS on the iPad and just shares your keyboard and pointer. They solve different problems — here's how to choose.