The new Catalina version of macOSdoes not only bring problems. Some of its new features are very practical, such asSidecar. This feature makes it very easy to transform an iPad into an external screen of a Mac. This can be useful for doubling the display of a MacBook for example. But in addition to that, it's also useful for entering drawings on your Mac, using the stylus on the iPad. Because the iPad in “Sidecar” mode still supports touch. We can therefore draw on macOS with our fingers, as we would on iPadOS, thanks to Sidecar and an iPad.
But Sidecar can also be used as a band-aid for a Mac with a broken screen. This is indeed what Andrew, a user of the social platform Reddit, discovered. In apublication detailing his project, he explains that he bought a MacBook with a broken Retina screen, at a very low price.
He actually programmed an automation using the excellent Mac softwareKeyboard Maestro, so that as soon as the MacBook starts up, it uses the iPad display using Sidecar. And here is the result:
Not wanting to do things halfway, Andrew also attached a magnetic protector to the broken MacBook screen. This allows you to hold the iPad facing it, like a real screen.
It must be admitted that the result is stunning. Well done by Andrew, who now has a touchscreen hybrid of sorts, taking advantage of the power of his Retina MacBook and macOS.
What do you say?
Finally, remember that without macOS Catalina and the Sidecar function, it is possible to transform an iPad into a second screen for the Mac, thanks toDuet Display,available here on the App Store. There is also thesolutionLuna Display, more expensive however, and requiring the use of a dedicated USB key.
Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.
