

Unlike Duet Display, Astropad focuses solely on mirroring your Mac's screen - you can't use it as a true second monitor. (We'll talk about Duet Pro in just a little bit.) Duet Display's standard version still offers no drawing tools or pressure sensitivity, however.ĭuet Display - See on the App Store Astropad StandardĪstropad was the first app that offered iPad users a truly great drawing tablet for their Mac: It was built specifically for working in certain Mac programs, like Photoshop, and offered ultra-low latency for drawing through smart hardware optimizations. In late May, Duet at last offered a solution: an in-app Duet Pro subscription, which enables pressure sensitivity and line prediction for artists, among other tools. In the years since, Duet has improved its original app with options like a digital Touch Bar (for Macs without access to Apple's own hardware version), even faster rendering, and iPhone support - but no drawing capabilities, despite competition from newcomer Astropad. Unfortunately, where Duet initially lagged was with the art community - users who wanted that second screen for drawing on a digital Photoshop canvas (or mirroring the Mac's display to draw upon it): The otherwise speedy 60FPS screen had issues displaying Photoshop documents and vast-delayed strokes, making the drawing experience uninspired as a whole. After connecting iPad to Mac via USB, it delivered users a Retina-quality second display at 60 frames per second, with minimal to no lag.įor those who wanted to view extra information - Twitter or work apps from their Mac on a second screen, for example - Duet was an excellent choice, and remains so today.

Though not the first second-screen app for iPad, Duet Display was one of the first to truly offer a usable second-screen experience.
