Astropad's New 'Slate' App Lets You Control Your Mac With Your iPad and Apple Pencil - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Astropad's New 'Slate' App Lets You Control Your Mac With Your iPad and Apple Pencil

After several months of beta testing, Astropad is today officially launching its Astropad Slate app for the iPad. Slate turns an ‌iPad‌ into a large trackpad for a Mac, complete with Apple Pencil control.

astropad slate
With Slate, you can use an ‌iPad‌ and ‌Apple Pencil‌ to perform several useful tasks. The ‌Apple Pencil‌ serves as a cursor for controlling the desktop mouse, and a tap on the screen is used as a click.

When you write on the ‌iPad‌, it is translated into typed text on the Mac, and there are two-finger gestures for actions like scrolling and zoom. If you have a newer ‌iPad‌ that supports ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover, you can use the hover gestures. For older iPads, Astropad added a simulated hover option.

In Mac apps that support drawing, sketching, and other creative work, you can use the ‌iPad‌ as a drawing tablet. It essentially serves as a no-screen interface for drawing, with the focus on the Mac.


You'll need an ‌iPad‌ that runs iPadOS 15 or later and a Mac that runs macOS 11 or later to use Astropad Slate. The devices can be connected over Wi-Fi, Peer-to-Peer networking, or an appropriate USB cable.

The Astropad Slate app is priced at $19.99 and can be purchased from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

astropad kit main feature

MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad Air and Revamped Rock Paper Pencil Kit From Astropad

Friday September 4, 2026 10:41 am PDT by
For this week's giveaway, we've once again teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an M4 iPad Air, an Apple Pencil Pro, and an Astropad Rock Paper Pencil kit to use with it. The $49.99 Rock Paper Pencil is a screen protector and Apple Pencil tip combo that makes writing on your iPad feel like writing on a piece of paper instead of a slippery glass display. It's a...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Smart Home Hub to Feature iMac G4-Style Design

Wednesday September 30, 2026 4:36 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored smart home hub will have an iMac G4-style design and a host of unique features, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. The smart home hub is said to feature a square 6-inch display, with variants that can be placed on a countertop or mounted on a wall. It features a single FaceTime camera on the front, with microphones and speakers in its connected base. Gurman described the...
HomePod minis on gradient feature 1 1

Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13

Wednesday September 30, 2026 4:04 am PDT by
Apple plans to introduce a series of new smart home products on Tuesday, October 13, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple reportedly plans to debut its long-awaited smart home hub device, a new HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV on the date. The new HomePod mini and Apple TV are set to retain their existing designs, but tout faster chips to support Siri AI. The new HomePod mini will...

Top Rated Comments

tweaknmod Avatar
34 months ago
Imagine working hard on something then finally releasing it - and an accompanying media release - only to see the comments full of people mocking your product, even though they are in no way the target audience, would never be interested in such a product, and don’t understand it - yet they feel the need to tell the world how useless they think it is.

It’s a niche product. If this isn’t for you, and you “don’t get it”, ask about it respectfully or just move on with your life, maybe?

The widespread acceptance of disrespectful comments by people who don’t realize/care that people who worked on this stuff read them will never stop frustrating me. And I refuse to stop calling it out when I see it.

To the team who launched this - and I know they’re monitoring these forums, cause I do that for a living: Congrats on the launch! Good luck 👍
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jhonjhon236 Avatar
34 months ago

So … a Wacom tablet?
Pretty much, but great if you have an iPad but not a Wacom.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
34 months ago
So … a Wacom tablet?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
34 months ago

Why not just a touchscreen Mac? Odd solution to, well I'm not sure.
I'm not an artist, but it seems like this would be much more convenient than drawing on my laptop screen.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
34 months ago

True!

I just wonder if the person this is truly targeted at wouldn’t prefer a dedicated device targeted at this usage, like a Wacom

Seems like a good update either way
An iPad app that works as well as a Wacom tablet would be even better than having just the tablet, because you could obviously use the iPad for so many other things. I'd swap my Wacom tablet for an iPad if the responsiveness was the same.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
34 months ago

Pretty much, but great if you have an iPad but not a Wacom.
What's the use case here?? "I have a tablet which is great for drawing, but I hate direct visual feedback and would instead prefer to use that tablet which is great for drawing as a slave device to a big monitor."

If that, why not just mirror the tablet's screen to a monitor?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
AT&T Acknowledges iPhone 18 Pro Max Issues: 'Update Immediately'
AT&T Acknowledges iPhone 18 Pro Max Issues: 'Update Immediately'
3 hours ago
New 'AirFly Drive' Accessory Turns Wired CarPlay Into Wireless CarPlay
New 'AirFly Drive' Accessory Turns Wired CarPlay Into Wireless CarPlay
9 hours ago
Apple Shares Photos Shot on iPhone Duo
Apple Shares Photos Shot on iPhone Duo
10 hours ago
Apple Says iPhone Duo Has Replaceable 'Cover Layer'
Apple Says iPhone Duo Has Replaceable 'Cover Layer'
11 hours ago
Apple's Smart Home Camera Will Apparently Have 'No Video Recording'
Apple's Smart Home Camera Will Apparently Have 'No Video Recording'
13 hours ago
Apple TV Just Updated Its Selection of 'Bonus' Movies
Apple TV Just Updated Its Selection of 'Bonus' Movies
15 hours ago
iPhone 18 Pro Colors Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Choose?
iPhone 18 Pro Colors Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Choose?
15 hours ago
Early Prime Big Deal Days: Best Discounts on Accessories, TVs, and More at Amazon
Early Prime Big Deal Days: Best Discounts on Accessories, TVs, and More at Amazon
15 hours ago
MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Rumored to Launch in October or November
MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Screen Rumored to Launch in October or November
17 hours ago
Apple's All-New Home Hub Rumored to Launch in These Four Colors
Apple's All-New Home Hub Rumored to Launch in These Four Colors
17 hours ago
iPhone 18 Pro Aperture Control Goes Fully Manual in Halide 3.2
iPhone 18 Pro Aperture Control Goes Fully Manual in Halide 3.2
18 hours ago
Apple Stores Receive 'Do Not Open' Boxes Ahead of Smart Home Products Launch
Apple Stores Receive 'Do Not Open' Boxes Ahead of Smart Home Products Launch
19 hours ago
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Jump in China Ahead of iPhone Duo Launch
iPhone 18 Pro Sales Jump in China Ahead of iPhone Duo Launch
19 hours ago
Apple TV Still Down for Some Users Following Apple Services Outage
Apple TV Still Down for Some Users Following Apple Services Outage
20 hours ago
PSA: Apple Mail on Mac May Stop Syncing Microsoft 365 Accounts Today
PSA: Apple Mail on Mac May Stop Syncing Microsoft 365 Accounts Today
20 hours ago
Apple's Smart Home Hub: Everything We Know So Far
Apple's Smart Home Hub: Everything We Know So Far
1 day ago
Apple's Home Hub Borrows From the iPhone Duo's StandBy Mode
Apple's Home Hub Borrows From the iPhone Duo's StandBy Mode
1 day ago
Apple Invites App Updated With Three New Features
Apple Invites App Updated With Three New Features
2 days ago
Apple Event on October 13?
Apple Event on October 13?
2 days ago
Apple Watch SE 3 vs. Series 12 Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Buy?
Apple Watch SE 3 vs. Series 12 Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Buy?
2 days ago
iPad Mini 8 to Offer These 10 New Features
iPad Mini 8 to Offer These 10 New Features
2 days ago
DoorDash Unveils AI Food Ordering Through Apple's Messages App
DoorDash Unveils AI Food Ordering Through Apple's Messages App
2 days ago
Amazon Takes Up to $150 Off Select M5 MacBook Air Models
Amazon Takes Up to $150 Off Select M5 MacBook Air Models
2 days ago
Apple Still Plans to Release a New Full-Sized HomePod
Apple Still Plans to Release a New Full-Sized HomePod
2 days ago
Apple Working to Expand HomeKit
Apple Working to Expand HomeKit
2 days ago
Apple Smart Home Hub to Feature iMac G4-Style Design
Apple Smart Home Hub to Feature iMac G4-Style Design
2 days ago
Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13
Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13
2 days ago
Apple Pay Now Available in India With Axis Bank Cards
Apple Pay Now Available in India With Axis Bank Cards
2 days ago
OpenAI Launches Always-On 'Dots' Agents to Rival Meta's Muse
OpenAI Launches Always-On 'Dots' Agents to Rival Meta's Muse
2 days ago
AirPods 5 Teardown: Batteries Removable, Case Still Tough
AirPods 5 Teardown: Batteries Removable, Case Still Tough
2 days ago