Apple is known for its ecosystem that provides a unique and seamless experience. It makes using Apple products more convenient and enjoyable. With each new version of the software, Apple introduces new features that allow Apple devices to work together seamlessly.

If you own an Ipad and a Mac, here are the seven fun and creative features that will boost your productivity and improve your overall experience. You can share files, exchange tasks, share clipboards, make calls, text, draw, share the Internet, and more when you share your iPad and Mac.

7 Features You Should Use If You Own a Mac and iPad

Control Your iPad Using Your Mac Keyboard and Mouse

If you use Mac and iPad at the same time, this feature will change the way you interact with these devices. Apple has introduced the new Universal Control, a feature that lets you control multiple Apple devices (Macs and iPads) with a single mouse or trackpad and keyboard. You don’t have to set up anything extra to make this work.

If you have a MacBook and an iPad, you can use the MacBook’s keyboard and trackpad to control the iPad Pro. You can click and scroll on your iPad using your MacBook’s keyboard and trackpad. What’s more, you can also seamlessly transfer files between devices with the easy drag-and-drop functionality. I’ll take a moment to thank Apple for saving me so much time and allowing me to interact with my iPad Pro easily.

How to setup and use Universal Control on your Mac and iPad

• Make sure both your Mac and iPad are updated to the latest software versions. Universal Control is only available on the latest macOS and iPadOS. You can view the full requirements here.
• Also, make sure that both your iPad and Mac devices are using the same iCloud account.
• Go to the System Preferences on your Mac. Navigate to the Display Options and click on “Advanced.” Here you should see options that allow you to move the cursor and keyboard between a nearby Mac or iPad; turn this feature on.
• On your iPad, go to “System Settings,” then “General” > “Airplay” > “Sharing.” Make sure the “Handoff” option and the “Cursor and Keyboard Controls” option are turned on.
• Once you have that setup, place the iPad closer to your Mac and now move the cursor from your Mac to your iPad and vice versa. You can also use the Mac keyboard to type on the iPad, and you can also drag and drop files between the Mac and iPad.
• If you’re still having trouble, go to Display Settings on your Mac, click “Add Display,” and you should see your iPad under the “Link Keyboard and Mouse” section. Click on it to make the connection.

Use Your iPad as a Secondary Display

Setting up a secondary screen is nothing new. Many people use secondary screens for various reasons, such as multitasking, different workspaces, gaming, coding, and design. Setting up a secondary screen can be tricky, depending on the type of setup. However, if you have an iPad and a Mac, you can set up and use your iPad as a second screen with just a few clicks. Apple calls it Sidecar, and it offers a lot of useful features.

First, you can use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac. You can move windows from your Mac to your iPad, use common Mac controls on the iPad sidebar, and use Multi-Touch gestures for various actions. You can also use your Apple Pencil to interact with the iPad screen and even install a Touch Bar on your iPad if your Mac doesn’t have one. You can type with a keyboard connected to either your Mac or iPad, switch to iPad apps whenever you want, and more.

How to use Apple Sidear Feature:

• Make sure you’re signed in with the same iCloud account on both Macbook and iPad. After you sign in, turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices and make sure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Now, on your Mac, go to Settings > General and enable Handoff. On your iPad, do the same by going to Settings > General > Airplay and Handoff.
• On your Mac, click on the Airplay icon at the top and select your iPad from the list to connect to it. After that, you should be able to drag and drop it to use as a separate monitor.

Copy and Paste Between Devices

The clipboard is a great feature for quickly copying and pasting things on your device. With the universal clipboard, you can quickly copy and paste things on different devices. With this feature, you can copy things like text, images, or videos on one Apple device and paste them on another. It’s like a shared clipboard for your devices. If you copy something on Mac, you can paste it onto iPad and vice versa.

How to setup and use the Univeral Clipboard feature on Mac and iPad:

• The feature only works on a Mac running macOS Sierra (10.12) or later and on iPad running iPadOS 16 or later.
• Make sure both the iPad and Mac are logged into iCloud with the same Apple ID.
• Now turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both devices, and both Mac and iPad should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Now enable the Handoff feature on both devices. On the Mac, you can enable it in System Preferences > General. On iPad, you can find it in Settings > General > Handoff.
• Place your devices within a recommended distance of about 30 feet of each other to use this feature.
• To use this feature on one device, copy and paste the content you want to transfer as usual. The copied content will be available for a short time.

Share Your Screen

Next up, we have an Airplay feature that lets you wirelessly stream video, photos, and audio from your iPad to your Mac. This is especially useful if you are watching a movie or video on your iPad and want a larger screen that you can easily stream to your Mac, or if you are giving a presentation, you can use the iPad to control the presentation on your Mac, or if you are working on something and need a larger screen for a better viewing experience, Airplay may be the best feature for you. You can also choose the audio destination where you can use Mac speakers for better sound.

How to share your iPad screen with your Mac:

On your Mac:

• Open your Mac and turn on the Handoff feature. f your Mac is running macOS Ventura or later, go to the Apple menu > System Settings > General > AirPlay & Handoff > AirPlay Receiver. Turn it on. If you are running macOS 12.5 or earlier, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Sharing > AirPlay Receiver. Turn it on.
• If you want only your devices to stream to the Mac, select “Current User. If you want to allow others, select “Everyone on the same network” or “Everyone.” If you want to require a password to use AirPlay with your Mac, select the option and enter a password.
• Now open the Control Center and tap the Screen Mirroring icon to show Macbook as an option.
• Tap the option, and you can immediately see the iPad screen on your Mac

Show Photos from Your iPad on a Mac:

• Open the Photos app on your iPad.
• Tap on the photo you want to show.
• Swipe up and tap the AirPlay icon
• Select your Mac as the destination.
• To stop showing photos, tap the AirPlay icon again and then tap “Turn off AirPlay.”

Play Audio from Your iPad on a Mac:

• Open an audio app on your iPad.
• Select what you want to play.
• Tap the AirPlay icon.
• Select your Mac as the destination.

Play Video from Your iPad on a Mac:

• While playing a video (in the Apple app TV or another supported video app) on your iPad, tap the screen to display the controls.
• Tap the AirPlay icon.
• Select your Mac as the destination.
• To change where the video plays, choose a different AirPlay option on the iPad screen.

Share Documents Instantly to iPad and Edit Them

Imagine a situation where you need to add a handwritten note or sign an important document that is on your Mac. This can be a tedious task. Thanks to the Continuity Markup feature, you can use your iPad to create a handwritten note quickly, add a digital sign, or mark up important information in a document on your Mac. You can easily share the document to iPad and use your finger or Apple Pencil to annotate the document, add handwritten documents, add digital characters, and more.

How to use Continuity Markup and Sketch

• To use this feature, make sure your Mac and iPad are close to each other.
• Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both your Mac and iPad. Log into iCloud on both devices using the same Apple ID.
• Your Mac should be running macOS Catalina or a newer version, and your iPad should be running iPadOS 13 or a newer version.

Drawing with Continuity Sketch:

• Open a document on your Mac.
• Go to the ‘File’ or ‘Insert’ menu and select ‘Insert from iPad,’ and tap ‘Add Sketch.’
• A window for the drawing will open on your iPad. You can draw on your iPad using the Apple Pencil or your finger.
• When you’re done drawing, tap ‘Done’ on your iPad. The drawing is then displayed in your Mac document.

Marking Up with Continuity Markup:

• Locate the PDF or image you want to mark up on your Mac.
• Click on the document and press the spacebar. This opens a preview window. Click the “Markup” button at the top of the window.
• Click the Annotate button or click the Mark toolbar at the top of the preview window and select a device.
• A markup window opens on your iPad. You can draw with the Apple Pencil or your finger or tap the plus sign to add text, a signature, a magnifying glass, or shapes and arrows.
• The changes you make on your iPad appear in real-time on your Mac.
• Click Done on your iPad when you’re finished making changes, and then click Done on your Mac to save the changes.

Pickup From Where You Left Off

If you are someone who switches workflows between different devices, Apple’s Handoff features can be very useful for you. When you enable handoff, you can pick up your work where you left off on the other device, and this process is very fast and seamless, which makes this feature even more appealing. Example: If you are writing an email on your Macbook, you can switch to the iPad to write your email. It picks up the workflow where you left off on your Mac. The Handoff feature also works on other devices like iPhone and Apple Watch, and the app must support this feature.

How to Set Up Handoff on Your Mac and iPad:

• Make sure all your iPad and Mac devices are close to each other.
• Sign in to iCloud on all devices with the same Apple ID.
• Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on all devices.
• Enable Handoff on all devices. Here’s how: On a Mac running macOS Ventura or later: go to the Apple menu > System Preferences, click General in the sidebar, and then AirDrop & Handoff on the right side. Enable Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices. On a Mac running earlier versions of macOS: Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences, click General, and then select Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.
• On iPad: Go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Handoff, and then enable Handoff.

Using Handoff:

• Open an app that supports Handoff. Popular apps include Safari, Mail, Apple Maps, the Reminders app, Calendar, Contacts, the Pages app, FaceTime, and many third-party apps.
• Start a task in the app, such as writing an email or creating a document.
• To switch to your Mac, click the app’s Handoff icon in the Dock.
• To switch to your iPad, click the app’s Handoff icon in the bottom Dock, with a computer screen icon overlay at the top.

Connect to the Personal Hotspot Without Entering a Password

If you suddenly lost data on your Mac or your wifi stopped working, don’t worry. You can set up a personal hotspot on your iPad and share the Internet connection with your Mac. Wait a minute, we all do that. Wait a minute, I was just about to mention that – you can connect without having to enter the password, and the process is simple and seamless, as always. You’ll need an iPad with cellular support to use this feature, and all devices should be logged into iCloud with the same Apple ID, plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi should be enabled for all devices.

How to setup Instant Hotspot on your iPad:

• Open Settings on your iPad.
• Tap on mobile/cellular data and turn it on.
• Go back to “Settings” and select “Personal Hotspot.”
• On the next screen, enable the “Allow others to join” option.
• To connect your Mac to your hotspot, go to the Control Centre, click “Wi-Fi,” and select your iPad from the list of Wi-Fi networks.

Seamless Integration between Mac and iPad

Apple is known for its better ecosystem, and with new features in each iteration, Apple makes it better and more seamless. If you own an iPhone, iPad, Max, or Apple Watch, Apple makes it easy to share files, expand screens and control other devices without any additional setup. If you have an iPad and a Mac, check out these seven features for better work.

FAQs on Mac and iPad Integration