Roger Fingas
Duet Display, an app that turns an iOS device into a secondary display for Mac or Windows systems, has been updated with support for the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar interface — even on MacBooks that don't have a Touch Bar.
Instead Duet Display simply taps into the appropriate code and models a "virtual" Touch Bar on a connected iPad. As with a real Touch Bar, the simulated one adapts to the active Mac app, for example showing a scrub bar and other playback controls for iTunes.
In the case of apps that haven't been updated for the Touch Bar, Duet should show generic commands.
Taking advantage of Duet's Touch Bar feature requires macOS 10.12.2, as well updated Mac and iOS clients. The latter currently costs $9.99, and runs on any device with iOS 8 or later. Pricing will soon go up to $19.99.
Other iPad-related enhancements include iOS keyboard compatibility, and better handling of the Apple Pencil's pressure sensitivity.
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7 Comments
I'm stretching here, but maybe Apple is exploring a secondary display on all devices:
There's probably no master plan, but it is an interesting coincidence.
The BT Magic Mouse paired with my iMac works as expected with the iPad Pro as a Duet second screen -- I suspect that if the iPad were attached to a MB running Duet, that the MB's trackpad would also work.
Now, I'm running a local server from Xcode on the iPad -- it is quite nice as a development device when Duet-tethered to the Mac.
Duet is one of my very favorite iOS apps. It just works! I use if daily with my 15" MBP as a second screen (of course the trackpad works with it) and I'm excited about the new Touchbar capabilities.