How to share a mouse and keyboard between multiple Macs and iPads

Universal Control means you can use the same mouse and keyboard with multiple Macs and iPads. You can also use an external KVM, or virtual KVM software.

- KAREN HASLAM

If you have multiple Macs you want to use, it can be a hassle to manage multiple keyboards, mice, and other pointing devices. What if you could use a single set of input devices to control multiple Macs-and sometimes even iPads?

Since Monterey, Apple has offered Universal Control for Macs and iPads, a solution for sharing keyboards and mice between two Macs. Where Universal Control doesn't fit, you can try a hardware or software KVM, which can share a set of input devices among multiple computers.

WHAT IS UNIVERSAL CONTROL?

Universal Control (fave.co/3R6M8CW) will let you use the same keyboard and mouse for all the Macs and iPads you are working on. All you have to do to switch devices is move the pointer until it crosses the edge of the screen. The new feature also makes it extremely easy to copy content between devices using drag-and-drop.

Universal Control builds on the Continuity features Apple added years ago that made it easy to move from one device to another seamlessly. Then with Catalina in 2019 came Sidecar, which made it easy to use an iPad as an additional screen for your Mac. Read: "How to use an iPad as a second screen with a Mac" (fave.co/3r3GfxT).

But Universal Control goes a step further than Sidecar did: Rather than turning your iPad display into a secondary Mac display, Universal Control will maintain the iPadOS on the iPad, so that you can interface with the iPad as an iPad, rather than as a second screen for your Mac.

Similarly, Universal Control brings a Sidecar-like feature to the Mac, so you can extend the primary screen to the secondary Mac, but you can also choose to use the two Macs independently so that you can interface between the two devices.