Universal Control works in macOS Monterey beta 5, with a catch
29th August, 2021 at 9:27 am by Ben W
- Universal Control lets you use the same mouse and keyboard across three different iPads or Macs.
- Apple announced it at WWDC in June but is expected to ship it until this fall.
- It can be enabled through multiple Terminal commands.
Back in June, at WWDC, Apple unveiled macOS Monterey, with Universal Control being the headlining feature. This lets you control multiple iPads or Macs through a single Mac’s mouse and keyboard.
The feature still isn’t officially available to use in the latest beta of macOS Monterey, and could be delayed until a future update this fall. However, as noted by MacRumors, it is now possible to enable Universal Control to use across multiple Macs.
Users should follow the steps in this GitHub post, which involves inputting multiple commands into Terminal. It’s worth noting that because the feature isn’t officially enabled, changing these settings could put your Mac at risk from data loss or corruption. We would advise eager beta testers to wait until a future beta, when Apple will likely enable Universal Control.
The feature won’t work in iPadOS 15, even in the latest beta. According to MacRumors, Universal Control worked with “minimal lag” and was smooth when moving between devices. However, by enabling it early, it’s possible that you’ll run into technical issues.
Apple released macOS Monterey beta 5 on August 11, despite pushing two new iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8 beta updates in that time. It isn’t clear what’s causing the delay to macOS Monterey. Apple hasn’t yet indicated that Universal Control will ship in a future update.
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