On paper, Universal Control sounds like a gimmick, but once you use it, you realize that Apple has changed the game. Again.
Apple's Universal Control vs Sidecar Explained
Universal Control lets you push your mouse cursor off the edge of your Mac’s screen, where it will appear on the screen of a nearby iPad or another Mac. From there, everything you do with the mouse and keyboard is sent to the second device. It’s like using a dual-monitor computer, except you’re actually using two computers. And here’s the killer feature: You can drag and drop virtually anything between the two machines.
“Universal Control requires no complicated setup and runs almost completely standalone. There appears to be no limit to the number of devices you can control with just one keyboard and trackpad/mouse,” tech media professional Aseem Kishore told Lifewire via email.
To discuss this feature, I started a thread on the Audiobus Forum, a place frequented by iPad musicians, many of whom also use Macs. The responses fall into two flavors: those who don’t see the point (it’s just mouse and keyboard sharing, right?) and those who’ve tried it. The latter group almost universally love it. Others mention Sidecar, which turns your iPad into an external display for your Mac, but that just turns the iPad into a dumb screen and is much more of an esoteric power-user feature.
