Use your Mac on iPad
Your Mac, tailored to iPad.
Every pixel filled with macOS. A trackpad that feels right at home. And a different Mac in every window.1
Requires iPadOS 26 or later and PocketRocket Host on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later. The PocketRocket app is coming soon to the App Store.
Get the highlights.
Pixel for pixel: 2752 × 2064 on the 13‑inch iPad Pro.
Hover, right-click, scroll. Just like a Mac.
Pinch to zoom. Swipe to go back.
A different Mac in every window.
⌘F goes to your Mac, not to iPad.
Copy on iPad. Paste on your Mac.
Can I use my Mac on iPad when I’m away from home? — Next room. Next continent.
Yes. PocketRocket shows your Mac on iPad over the internet—from a hotel, an office or over 5G—with no VPN or router setup. Your Mac gets a virtual display with the exact proportions of your iPad window, so macOS fills the screen without black bars. It’s not a second display: you work on the Mac itself.
Will my Mac fill the whole iPad screen? — Every pixel. Accounted for.
Yes. PocketRocket creates a virtual display that matches your iPad to the physical pixel—2752 × 2064 on the 13‑inch iPad Pro—or the exact proportions of your window in Stage Manager and Split View. No black bars, no cropping, and your Mac names the display after your device: “PocketRocket iPad.”
Take a closer look.
Drag from Retina 1:1 to More space—100 to 200 percent, in 5 percent steps—and more of your desktop fits on iPad, without restarting the stream.
Screen scaling
Display name on your MacPocketRocket iPad2752 × 2064
Can I use a mouse or trackpad with iPad? — Feels like a Mac. Because it is one.
Yes, and it feels like a Mac. Hover, right-click, scroll, and ⌘-, ⇧- or ⌥-click all work. Pinch zooms with the zoom built into macOS, and a two-finger horizontal swipe goes back and forward. Shortcuts that iPadOS would normally keep for itself, like ⌘F, go straight to your Mac.
| On iPad | On your Mac |
|---|---|
| Two-finger tap | Right-click |
| Touch and hold 1 s (Touch mode) | Right-click |
| Pinch | macOS zoom |
| Two-finger swipe left or right | Back / Forward |
| ⌘, ⇧ or ⌥ + click | Modified click |
| ⌘F and other shortcuts iPadOS reserves | Sent to your Mac |
Can I open two Mac computers on one iPad? — Two Mac computers. One iPad.
Yes. Open PocketRocket in several windows with Stage Manager or Split View and connect each one to a different Mac at the same time. Your connections sync through iCloud, each with a thumbnail of its last screen. Each Mac serves one device at a time, so another device connecting to it takes over that session.
Fingers welcome.
No trackpad with you? Choose Touch to click where your finger lands, or Touchpad to glide a pointer at 50 to 200 percent speed.
Tap anywhere on this screen.
The whole Mac, not just its screen.
Copy here. Paste there.
Text, images and files move both ways, up to the limit you set.2
Your iPad can be its camera.
PocketRocket Camera and PocketRocket Mic, automatically for the session.
Hear your Mac.
Stereo sound from your Mac, with a buffer that adapts to your connection.
Encrypted end to end.
Every channel, every byte.
Is PocketRocket the same as Sidecar over the internet? — Sidecar at your desk. PocketRocket everywhere else.
Not quite. According to Apple, Sidecar extends or mirrors your Mac desktop to an iPad within about 10 meters (30 feet) or over USB, and supports touch far more broadly with iPadOS 27 and macOS 27.3 PocketRocket brings the Mac itself to your iPad over the internet. If your iPad sits next to your Mac, Sidecar is built in.
Sidecar: at your desk.
PocketRocket: everywhere else.
| Criterion | Sidecar | Universal Control | PocketRocket |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Uses an iPad as a display that extends or mirrors your Mac | One Mac keyboard, mouse or trackpad controls up to two other nearby Mac or iPad devices; each shows its own screen | See and control your Mac from another Apple device |
| Use it from | iPad | Mac, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, Mac |
| Distance (per documentation) | Within about 10 m (30 ft) wirelessly, or USB | Within about 10 m (30 ft) | Anywhere with an internet connection; tested on 5G and hotel Wi‑Fi abroad |
| What you install | Built in | Built in | PocketRocket Host on the Mac, PocketRocket on your device |
| Input | Touch (greatly expanded in iPadOS 27 and macOS 27), Apple Pencil, keyboard, mouse, trackpad, sidebar with ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ | Shared keyboard, mouse or trackpad | Touch and Touchpad modes, key bar, keyboard, mouse and trackpad on iPad, pinch to zoom |
Before you start.
Can I use my iPad as a screen for my Mac when I’m away from home?
Yes, with a remote desktop such as PocketRocket: your Mac appears on your iPad over the internet, on a virtual display shaped like your iPad window.
It works from a hotel, an office or over 5G, with no VPN or router setup. It’s not a second display: you work on the Mac itself.
Will I see black bars around my Mac desktop on iPad or iPhone?
No: PocketRocket gives your Mac a virtual display in the exact proportions of your window—2752 × 2064 on the 13‑inch iPad Pro—so nothing is letterboxed or cropped.
In Stage Manager and Split View, the display follows the proportions of your window, and your Mac names it after your device, such as “PocketRocket iPad.”
Can I use a mouse or trackpad on iPad with a remote Mac?
Yes: hover, right-click, scrolling and ⌘-, ⇧- or ⌥-click work, pinch uses the zoom built into macOS, and a two-finger swipe goes back and forward.
Without a trackpad, choose Touch to click where your finger lands, or Touchpad to glide a pointer at 50 to 200 percent speed.
Do ⌘ keyboard shortcuts on iPad reach the remote Mac?
Yes: shortcuts from a hardware keyboard go to your Mac, including ones iPadOS normally keeps for itself, such as ⌘F.
Key repeat runs on your device itself.
Can I open two different Mac computers at the same time on one iPad?
Yes: on iPad, Apple Vision Pro and Mac, each PocketRocket window can show a different Mac at the same time.
On iPad, open PocketRocket in several windows with Stage Manager or Split View; on Apple Vision Pro, open another Mac from the name above the window. Each Mac serves one device at a time.
Does Apple Pencil work with PocketRocket?
Apple Pencil support is in testing: pressure and tilt reach your Mac as tablet events, and this answer will be updated once it’s confirmed.
Barrel roll, squeeze and hover aren’t passed to your Mac.
Does Sidecar work over the internet?
Not according to Apple: Sidecar needs your iPad within about 10 meters (30 feet) of your Mac, or a USB cable.
Can I access my Mac remotely over the internet without a VPN or port forwarding?
Yes: PocketRocket finds your Mac through iCloud and connects over your local network, an optional VPN, a direct connection or an encrypted relay—whichever works first.
Is PocketRocket end‑to‑end encrypted?
Yes: every channel is encrypted end to end with ChaCha20‑Poly1305, using fresh X25519 keys for each session, and your Mac refuses unencrypted traffic.
Leave your Mac at home. Take it everywhere.
Install PocketRocket Host
On the Mac you want to reach. It lives in the menu bar.
Get the PocketRocket app
On iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro or another Mac.
Tap your Mac
Use the same Apple Account, and your Mac shows up on its own.
PocketRocket Host needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later. The PocketRocket app is coming soon to the App Store.