12 MACWORLD MARCH 2020
MACUSER TOUCHSCREEN MACBOOKS AND SIDECARor documents in Pages. I can even use
some iPadOS multi-touch gestures, and
Sidecar performs these fluidly when the
Mac and iPad are on the same network. If
I’m just scrolling, it’s wonderfully
convenient.
But if I use my finger to try to click a
link on that same page? Nothing. I have
to waste time either dragging my mouse
pointer over to the display or picking up
my Apple Pencil. This makes no sense.
The technology is clearly there. And
what about if I tap on a gigantic icon on
the dock or on a file on the desktop?
Again, nothing.
I can’t even hold my finger down on a
file or link to pull up a “right-click” menu—
but I can do these things with a long-press
with a Pencil. I’m at the
point where I think not
having any
touchscreen support in
Sidecar at all would be
better off than dealing
with this unsatisfying
and unintuitive teasing.
Sidecar’s design
comes off as deliberate
half-assing. (In a more
cynical mood, I’d say
it’s a ploy to get you to
buy the Apple Pencil.)
But at least it’s
somewhat consistent.
For years, Apple has argued that
touchscreens clash with the Mac
experience or, as Jony Ive told Cnet in
2016 (go.macworld.com/cnji), that it’s a
feature that “wasn’t particularly useful.”
And yes, I think reasonable people agree
it’d be silly to support touchscreens on
something as large as the iMac Pro.
With Sidecar, though, Apple seems
determined to make us think multi-touch
support wouldn’t work well with something
as small as a MacBook. Meh, I say. If
anything, it shows how well it would work.
Apple all but markets the iPad Pro as a
full-on laptop these days, and the largest
12.9-inch model has roughly the same
display size as the smallest contemporary
MacBooks. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro runningUntil Sidecar came along, Luna Display was one of your best
options for using the iPad as a secondary Mac monitor. If you want
touch support, it still is.