When Apple introduced Common Management as a function of macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15, I wasn’t positive what to suppose. It appeared like a function no one had requested for, however one which Apple had realized may really be extremely helpful. I used to be actually impressed by its technical ambition. However wouldn’t it be one thing that I’d ever use daily? I used to be skeptical.

It’s been about eight months since Common Management arrived–bear in mind, it was introduced in June 2021 however gestated for 9 months earlier than being launched in March of this 12 months–and I’m lastly able to weigh in on Common Management.

It’s nice. It’s one in every of my favourite operating-system function additions in current reminiscence. And most shocking of all, I’m utilizing it in methods I had by no means, ever anticipated. Right here’s why I’m grateful that Common Management exists.

The iPad desk combo

I’ve by no means been a multiple-monitor particular person, however this summer time, I began inviting my iPad onto my desk. It began once I was attempting to look at some reside video–realizing me, most likely a NASA TV house factor or a baseball sport–and wrestling with utilizing Image-in-Image on my Mac. It stored protecting components of my apps, and sometimes I’d neglect it was being performed in Safari and shut the tab. And I spotted: Why not simply put my iPad on my desk and have the video enjoying on there?

Apple

As soon as I had positioned it there, it simply took one overly enthusiastic trackpad motion, and my pointer had damaged by way of the facet of my Mac show and appeared over on my iPad. The iPad was so hardly ever on my desk that I hadn’t even thought of that I may use Common Management, however right here it was. And it meant I didn’t want to select my fingers up from my keyboard tray to drive the apps on the iPad.

Now I notice that for a number of years, macOS has had Sidecar, a function that permits you to flip your iPad right into a second show to your Mac. However Common Management is, not less than for a way I work, so significantly better. A lot of the makes use of I’ve for the iPad contain apps that run natively on the iPad. Why activate Sidecar and drag a Safari window over onto the display screen once I can simply use Common Management to deliver up Safari and go to that webpage proper on my iPad?

In a short time, I spotted I may place my calendar, Twitter, Slack, or Discord over on that iPad and use it as an auxiliary show–and it was helpful as a result of the iPad nonetheless behaved prefer it did once I was utilizing it by itself. It didn’t really feel bizarre or synthetic the way in which utilizing Sidecar did.

Surprising delight

Common Management is a powerful set of applied sciences. It’s sharing a keyboard and trackpad throughout a number of units, sure, however it’s additionally sharing clipboards and even drag-and-drop throughout units. Behind the scenes, Apple is profiting from all of the continuity options it’s added to its working methods through the years–AirDrop and Shared Clipboard chief amongst them. And, after all, this function would by no means work if Apple hadn’t added pointer assist in early 2020.

However realizing all of that didn’t put together me for the second of sudden delight that I skilled just lately. For the previous few months, I’ve been updating my e-book about Apple’s Pictures app, which requires me to continuously evaluate Pictures on the Mac to Pictures on iOS and iPadOS. The whole strategy of evaluating the 2 completely different variations of Pictures has been made simpler by the truth that, basically, I’m utilizing two computer systems on my desk–one a Mac, one an iPad, each pushed by my similar keyboard and trackpad.

Then got here the magic second. I took a screenshot on the iPad, and the floating screenshot rectangle appeared on the iPad display screen. You may faucet this floating rectangle to immediately open the screenshot editor, permitting you to make modifications, delete it, reserve it, or copy it to the clipboard. Or you may swipe the floating rectangle away, and the picture will simply be saved to your Photograph library.

I had a thought. Might I? Had Apple considered this, too? I wanted that picture on my Mac, so I may course of it and insert it into the e-book. Properly, there was no hurt in attempting. I moved my finger throughout my trackpad, the pointer popped over to the iPad, and I clicked and dragged that floating rectangle again to my Mac and dropped it on the desktop.

And reader, it simply labored. Precisely as I had intuited it will.

Willis Lai/IDG

Macs might be pals

This summer time, I additionally wanted to stand up to hurry with macOS Ventura whereas not breaking all of my software program that required macOS Monterey. It’s been a problem for me for many years since I began reviewing macOS twenty years in the past.

This summer time, I simply plopped a MacBook Air on my desk subsequent to my Studio Show and let Common Management bridge the hole. Common Management made it really feel way more like I used to be utilizing a single pc working two completely different working methods. Not having to elevate my fingers and kind awkwardly on the MacBook Air once I needed to make use of it appeared like a bit of factor, however it ended up making an enormous distinction in my workflow.

A shocking use of Common Management

Lastly, this week I uncovered a shocking use of Common Management that I had by no means anticipated. I used to be complaining to a good friend of mine about how I used to be struggling to correctly take a look at exterior show assist on the present iPadOS beta as a result of it was such a ache to detach my show, keyboard, and trackpad from my Mac and reattach them to my iPad. (I needed to maintain my similar desk configuration however change it in order that my iPad Professional was driving the show as an alternative of my Mac Studio.)

My good friend instructed that maybe I may give Common Management a strive. In spite of everything, wasn’t the Mac Studio nonetheless working? Why disconnect the keyboard and trackpad in any respect?

So I unplugged the cable working from my Mac Studio to my Studio Show and as an alternative plugged within the iPad Professional. To date, so good. Then I put my hand on my trackpad–nonetheless connected to my Mac–and imagined transferring the pointer throughout to the far proper fringe of the Mac display screen and popping it into the iPad.

Certain sufficient, it labored. And for the following few hours, I used my iPad with an exterior show–all pushed by a keyboard and trackpad nonetheless connected to a Mac, linked through Common Management.

I do not know if Apple ever meant its function for use on this approach, however I’ve bought to offer it to Common Management. It does the job, and the extra I exploit it, the extra it matches with how I’m working. Lately I preserve an iPad subsequent to my desk, and whereas it’s not on on a regular basis, I’m utilizing it way over I anticipated–all because of Common Management.