With Apple's Universal Control release, you'll only need one mouse

One mouse, many devices.
By Jennimai Nguyen  on 
Hands hovering over a white computer keyboard and mouse.

If you have an iPad and a Mac, your scrolling life is about to get way easier.

Apple has confirmed that it will be releasing macOS Monterey 12.3 next week, and with it comes Universal Control. The new feature will allow Apple users with multiple devices to scroll between an iPad and Mac with one mouse or trackpad, as well as use one keyboard. This will ideally create a more seamless workflow by eliminating multiple clunky accessories and, according to Apple, will allow users to do actions like drag and drop from one device to another.

Universal Control will only work between an iPad and Mac running on the latest software, as Apple has made no mention of the feature working with iPhones or other devices. Ahead of its official debut, Apple has sent the beta release candidate for macOS 12.3 to developers for testing, and expects this version to be very similar to the one rolling out to all users next week.

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Other features coming with macOS Monterey 12.3 include new emoji, a new voice for Siri, spatial audio enhancements, and more. Apple also confirmed that iPadOS 15.4 and iOS 15.4 should be arriving next week to round out the software updates.

Owning multiple Apple devices isn't exactly the cheapest endeavor, but if you already have your hands on them, Universal Control could essentially give you a sleek double- or triple-monitor setup. This could be your most harmonious Apple desk space yet!

Topics Apple

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Jennimai Nguyen

Jennimai is a tech reporter at Mashable covering digital culture, social media, and how we interact with our everyday tech. She also hosts Mashable’s Snapchat Discover channel and TikTok, so she naturally spends way too much time scrolling the FYP and thinking about iPhones.


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