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Early code suggests only newer Macs will support macOS Catalina’s Sidecar functionality

macOS Catalina Sidecar

One of the new enhancements Apple is adding to macOS is a feature called Sidecar.

Sidecar will allow iPad owners to use their tablet as a secondary display with their Mac computer. Once macOS Catalina launches later this year, Sidecar will support both screen mirroring and extension.

Apple has yet to detail which devices will work with Sidecar. However, in a tweet first spotted by MacRumors, noted developer Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) says code snippets within the macOS Catalina developer beta suggest only newer Macs will support the feature.

The current list looks as follows:

  • Late 2015 27-inch iMac or newer
  • 2017 iMac Pro
  • Mid-2016 MacBook Pro or newer
  • Late 2018 Mac mini or newer
  • Late 2018 MacBook Air or newer
  • Early 2016 MacBook or newer
  • 2019 Mac Pro

Without official confirmation from Apple, this should be treated as a preliminary list of supported devices. It could shrink or expand before Catalina launches later this year. Troughton-Smith adds that it’s possible to get some older Macs to take advantage of Sidecar using a Terminal command.

From an iPad perspective, things are a bit clearer. To use Sidecar, iPadOS is required. Apple currently plans to update the iPad Air 2 and later, the 5th-generation iPad and later, as well as all iPad Pro models to support the new iOS offshoot.

Even if the Mac list is a bit disappointing, the good news is that there are third-party options like Duet Display that offer the same functionality.

Source: Twitter Via: MacRumors

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