iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3 Betas Add Universal Control

The iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3 betas that Apple released today introduce support for Universal Control, the long-awaited feature that's designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single mouse and keyboard.

universal control wwdc
There are ‌Universal Control‌ settings available on both the Mac and the iPad, and the feature is enabled by default after updating to the new betas. On the Mac, the settings can be found under Displays > Advanced, and on the ‌iPad‌, the AirPlay & Handoff section under General has a new "Cursor and Keyboard (Beta)" option.

universal control macos monterey 12 3
With ‌Universal Control‌, you can use the same cursor and keyboard on any nearby Mac or ‌iPad‌ that's signed into your iCloud account. So, for example, if you have a MacBook and an ‌iPad‌ next to it, your MacBook's trackpad and keyboard can be used right on the ‌iPad‌.

Apple introduced ‌Universal Control‌ in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference and initially said that it would be introduced this fall, but the company was not able to meet that deadline and ultimately delayed the launch.

In December, Apple updated its macOS Monterey feature page with a "spring 2022" release date for ‌Universal Control‌, which is aligned with when we are expecting to see iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3 launch.

Related Forums: iOS 15, macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

827538 Avatar
40 months ago
I don't mind that they've taken their time with Universal Control, but I want it working perfectly when it finally drops.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
podycust Avatar
40 months ago

Well the mask thing should of been 2 years ago
How was apple to know that a pandemic was coming in 2020? Features take time to develop and get right!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saturnine Avatar
40 months ago
Wow, Apple seriously put some thought into this.

It works with an external display - just a generic 4K LG in my case. It works in clamshell and in non-clamshell mode. It works with the Apple Magic Keyboard & Mouse. It works with a generic cheap Logitech keyboard and mouse too.

And here's the real surprise... You can extend your MacBook display to the iPad to use as a second monitor then keep pushing towards the edge of the iPad screen to move from macOS to iPadOS on the iPad itself.

Crazy.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
walterpaisley Avatar
40 months ago
Got it working here. I had to explicitly link my iPad and Mac under the "Add Display" option in my mac's System Preferences to get it to work, but once I did it works as expected.

Dragging and dropping files between devices works, too.

Note it appears this is *not* compatible with Wacom tablets. I can only jump control and drag files if I use my mouse.



Attachment Image
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ediks Avatar
40 months ago

I don't mind that they've taken their time with Universal Control, but I want it working perfectly when it finally drops.
[MEDIA=twitter]1486795252484685827[/MEDIA]

it looks like it works pretty good
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CalfCanuck Avatar
40 months ago
Not sure which is more amazing - Universal Control, or that the jaded MacRumors users are actually impressed...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)