That Android tablet in a drawer. The iPad you stopped updating. A spare laptop. AnvilDesk makes them real extended monitors — not a mirror — over USB or Wi-Fi. Many of them need nothing installed at all.
Most second-screen apps need their app on every device — which rules out anything too old to run it. AnvilDesk also speaks plain HTTP, so a browser is enough.
Open a URL and the screen becomes a monitor. No app, no store, no signing. We test on a 2012 iPad stuck on iOS 9 — it still works.
A native client for Android tablets and phones with hardware HEVC decoding. Sidecar is iPad-only. Your Galaxy Tab isn't a second-class citizen here.
Tilt, pressure curves, palm rejection and a barrel-button right-click. An S Pen tablet becomes a drawing tablet for Photoshop or Procreate-style work.
Plug in for the lowest latency, or go wireless on your network. Devices are discovered automatically — no IP addresses to type.
Every connected device gets its own virtual display. Arrange them around your Mac by dragging, exactly like System Settings.
Direct device-to-Mac connection. Nothing routes through our servers, because there are no servers. Each device pairs once with a code.
Native apps for iPhone, iPad and Android find your Mac on the network automatically. Pair once — scan the QR or type the six digits — and every reconnect after that is silent.
Everyone has the drawer. An iPad 2 too old for the App Store. A Galaxy Tab that stopped getting updates. A Fire tablet from a Prime sale. They still have a perfectly good screen — the software just abandoned them.
AnvilDesk doesn't need an app store, a sideload, or a certificate that expires every seven days. If the device has a browser, it can be a display. That's the whole requirement.
Tested on a 2012 iPad mini running iOS 9.3.5 — four generations past its last update.
A signed, notarised app. Grant Screen Recording when asked.
Native client on Android and iOS, or just browse to your Mac from anything else.
Shown on your Mac. After that the device reconnects on its own.
It's a real display to macOS — windows, menus, full-screen apps, all of it.
The honest version. Sidecar is excellent if you own a recent iPad — but that's the only thing it does.
| AnvilDesk | Sidecar | Duet | spacedesk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android tablets | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with no app installed | Yes | No | No | No |
| Very old devices | Yes | No | No | No |
| Mac host | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows only |
| Pen pressure & tilt | Yes | Yes | Paid tier | No |
| Subscription-free | One-time | Free | Subscription | Free |
No monthly fee for software that runs entirely on your own hardware.