Apple Industry News

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/

In this step-by-step tutorial, we walk you through the quick steps to export a slideshow as a video file in the Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate.

For context, the Apple Photos app lets you select a bunch of photos & videos and play them as a slideshow with music, so you can view them comfortably like a movie.

The slideshow is customizable with music, transition effects, and a custom duration for each image. If the video looks nice, you may want to save it as a video file or share it in the family iMessage group.

Follow these steps to export a slideshow as a video movie on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

iPhone or iPad

1) Open the Photos app, tap the Select button at the top, and mark a few pictures and video clips.

2) Tap the three-dot menu icon at the top and select Start Slideshow.

3) Tap the screen and then the Customize button to set the transition & duration.

4) The other important customization option is Music. But there are some things to consider.

• You can select an Apple Music song to view the slideshow, but since these songs are DRM-protected, you cannot keep them in the exported video.
• Therefore, tap Music and instead of selecting an Apple Music song, select one under the Soundtracks heading, as these don’t have any use restrictions. Tap Categories to see them all.

5) Tap the three-dot icon at the top and pick Share.

Note: If your slideshow includes an Apple Music track, you’ll be prompted to pick an alternate track. Tap Edit Music to select a soundtrack. Or, tap Continue to export the slideshow without music.

6) Finally, tap Save Video on the iOS Share Sheet to prepare and export the slideshow as a movie file. You’ll find the video as the most recent media in your photo library.

Mac

1) Open the Photos app and go to the Library section or an album. Hold the Command key and select multiple images. Or, press Command + A to select them all.

2) Click File > Play Slideshow from the top menu bar.

3) Click Customize to fine-tune the transition, duration, and music. Just like the iPhone, remember to select an audio under the Soundtracks heading.

4) Finally, click File > Export > Export Slideshow Video from the top menu bar.

5) Rename the video file, select a location, adjust the orientation and aspect ratio if needed, and click Save.

The photo slideshow will be exported as an MOV file, which you can watch in the built-in Apple QuickTime app or a third-party app like VLC.

Also, check out:

• How to create temporary shared iCloud album in iOS 27
• How to filter photos by members in shared iCloud album

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/07/02/save-slideshow-as-video-ios-mac/