macOS 27: Use touch to control the Mac window in iPad Sidecar

Use touch to interact with Mac app windows while using Sidecar on an iPad running iPadOS 27 and Mac running macOS 27 Golden Gate.

If you own a Mac and an iPad but don’t know what Sidecar is, let me quickly get you up to speed.

Sidecar is a built-in Apple Continuity feature that lets you use your iPad as an additional companion display for your Mac. You don’t need to buy third-party software, cable, or adapter. It works both wirelessly and via a standard USB cable (the same one you use to charge your iPad).

You can mirror your Mac’s display on your iPad, and both screens will show the same content. Or you can use your iPad as an extended display to show another app, effectively having two screens with different content. On top of that, in some apps like Photos, Sidecar also offers more fine-grained editing options with an Apple Pencil. We have explained all of this with several screenshots in our dedicated tutorial: How to use iPad as Mac’s secondary display or mirror display

Up until iPadOS and macOS 27, you could only control the Mac app window on iPad’s display using Apple Pencil or Mac’s own trackpad or mouse, thanks to yet another built-in Continuity feature called Universal Control.

iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 simplify things and now allow you to just use your finger on the iPad’s display to interact with the Mac’s screen there.

What makes this amazing is that you no longer have to drag Mac’s pointer to the edge of the display onto the iPad to make quick changes. You can simply use your left or right hand to scroll the window, play, pause, or do most other actions – right on the iPad. It’s not as perfect as what a touchscreen-first macOS-optimized experience would have been, but it’s decent.

Touch the iPad screen to control the Mac app during Sidecar

We already have a tutorial on using Sidecar, so we’ll keep things brief here.

1) Update your Mac to macOS 27 Golden Gate and iPad to iPadOS 27 (currently both are in beta).

2) Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both your Mac and iPad and keep them near, like on the same desk.

3) Now, go to Mac’s System Settings > Display.

4) Click the plus button and select your iPad under the ‘Mirror or extend to‘ heading.

You can then click the iPad icon at the top and use it as an extended display, a mirror display for your Mac, or the main display.

If you’re using the iPad as an extended display, place the Mac pointer on the green traffic light button for an app and move it to your iPad.

5) Once you have an app on the iPad display, just use one finger to scroll, swipe, and tap.

Note that not all touch gestures you’re familiar with on iPad may work during Sidecar. For example, on an iPad, touching and holding the video player in YouTube plays the video at 2x. However, if your muscle memory does the same during Sidecar, it will just show the usual black YouTube player menu (see the screenshot below). Additionally, I found that I cannot drag the video progress bar when watching YouTube in Sidecar.

What do you think of touch support in Apple Sidecar?

Also, check out:

• 3 iPhone Mirroring improvements I love in iOS 27
• How to undo or redo Home Screen changes in iPadOS 27

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/07/03/touch-controls-sidecar/