The Luna Display Now Lets Windows PCs Use an iPad as a Second Wireless Screen

With a 12.9-inch mini-LED display boasting a decision of 2732 x 2048 pixels, utilizing the iPad Pro for simply studying books or checking electronic mail looks like a waste of tech. The Luna Display dongle makes the iPad Pro a extra useful productiveness software by turning the pill right into a secondary touchscreen show however till now it labored solely with Macs. Starting immediately, it formally works with Windows PCs.

The Luna Display was initially a Mac-only product. It plugged into the USB port on an Apple pc and streamed knowledge to an iPad, permitting it to not solely function a secondary show but in addition as a drawing pill for Mac-specific apps that will in any other case require a tool like a Wacom pill for pen interactivity.

Even at $130, the tiny dongle was nonetheless less expensive than a second display, and it was such a intelligent concept that Apple determined to Sherlock the performance into macOS Catalina. If you haven’t heard that time period earlier than, Sherlocking is the unofficial title given to Apple saying a brand new working system function—be it in macOS, iOS, or iPadOS—that replicates the precise performance of a third-party app or service. The time period dates again to the early aughts when the Apple Sherlock search software was up to date with a brand new function that was beforehand solely accessible by an app known as Watson.

With the macOS Catalina Sidecar function (which turned iPads into exterior shows) launched in 2019, Astropad had been officially Sherlocked, however as a substitute of calling it quits, the corporate determined to increase the performance of its software program and streaming dongle to Windows PCs. That began with a Kickstarter campaign over a yr in the past, adopted by pre-orders, however immediately Windows customers can officially buy a Windows-compatible version of the Luna Display dongle for $130 (accessible in both USB-C or HDMI variations) and formally obtain the Windows-friendly variations of the Luna Display desktop and iPad apps.

Functionality for Windows PCs is promised to be precisely the identical because it has been for Macs, with fast setup, full assist for contact gestures in addition to the Apple Pencil options on the iPad, and simply 16ms of latency between a PC and the pill. The expertise won’t be precisely as responsive as utilizing an iPad with a local iPadOS app, however the Luna Display dongle and software program means your expensive pill all of the sudden works with any Windows desktop app, be it productiveness instruments like Excel, or one thing extra inventive like Photoshop and even advanced 3D modelling purposes.