Astropad's New 'Slate' App Lets You Control Your Mac With Your iPad and Apple Pencil
After several months of beta testing, Astropad is today officially launching its Astropad Slate app for the iPad. Slate turns an iPad into a large trackpad for a Mac, complete with Apple Pencil control.
With Slate, you can use an iPad and Apple Pencil to perform several useful tasks. The Apple Pencil serves as a cursor for controlling the desktop mouse, and a tap on the screen is used as a click.
When you write on the iPad, it is translated into typed text on the Mac, and there are two-finger gestures for actions like scrolling and zoom. If you have a newer iPad that supports Apple Pencil hover, you can use the hover gestures. For older iPads, Astropad added a simulated hover option.
In Mac apps that support drawing, sketching, and other creative work, you can use the iPad as a drawing tablet. It essentially serves as a no-screen interface for drawing, with the focus on the Mac.
You'll need an iPad that runs iPadOS 15 or later and a Mac that runs macOS 11 or later to use Astropad Slate. The devices can be connected over Wi-Fi, Peer-to-Peer networking, or an appropriate USB cable.
The Astropad Slate app is priced at $19.99 and can be purchased from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
