Can the Mac screen be used as an external monitor ? If you are one of the thousands of users who have asked this at some point, we are going to tell you all the options you have. This will make it clearer to you what all this is about Target Display, compatible equipment and to what extent you might or might not be interested in using an old Mac as a secondary monitor or even if it would be interesting for the use of the newly introduced iMac.
Use your Mac as an external monitor
One of the most recurrent questions, especially by those users who have an iMac, is if they exist to use the screen of said equipment as an external monitor. That happens mainly when a few years have passed, they renew or acquire another Mac and they would like to be able to have two screens instead of one.
Well, it must be said that for a few years this was officially possible. Apple offered what is known as Target Display , a function that allowed through a Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt cable to connect another computer and use that screen of those iMac as an external monitor.
Unfortunately it was a feature that barely lasted four generations of iMac. These were the models compatible with the Target Display :
- iMac 27 ″ Late 2009
- iMac 27 ″ Mid 2010
- iMac 21.5 ″ Mid 2011
- iMac 27 ″ Mid 2011
- iMac 21.5 ″ Late 2012
- iMac 27 ″ Late 2012
From there the company decided that it was not an interesting feature for some reason and stopped supporting it. So during the following years it did not stop generating a bit of confusion among those less advanced users who had read or heard something and thought that with their current equipment they could also.
Something that would really have been great in certain cases and having screens like the current ones with 4K or 5K resolution of the iMac with Intel processors or 4.5K of the new iMac with Apple Silicon M1 chip.
How to use your Mac screen as an external monitor
Now that you know what the official solution is, if your Mac does not allow Target Display mode you will have to resort to an alternative solution to that mode. Exist? Well yes, there are two additional options to achieve what you are looking for. What’s more, the second option (the third if the official one is counted) is something that allows different applications similar to the proposal we are talking about. Although at the moment this is the most interesting. We are going to see them one by one so that you can know the advantages, disadvantages and to what extent it may or may not interest you.
Use a video capture
Making use of a video capture device can be an interesting option in order to take advantage of the screen of a Mac and even of any other computer. There are very inexpensive models that even offer 4K resolution in the capture.
The only problem or drawback with this solution is that it requires double spending, because the equipment must be turned on and running the software that allows the capture. Therefore, the experience will never be the same and depending on the power of the hardware, everything may not go smoothly enough.
Moon Display
A second option, although it may be the most interesting of all, is Luna Display . This application is not new nor is it the only one of its kind, but it is one of the most active in terms of continuing to offer this feature.
The latest update not only allows you to continue making use of the previously existing options, such as using the screen of an iPhone or iPad as a secondary screen connecting via Lightning cable and WiFi or the one that gives the option of using WiFi again to send the video signal from one Mac to another, also having a new Target Display mode that connects two Apple computers via ethernet or Thunderbolt.
Thanks to these new connections, the transfer of the video signal is much faster and more efficient, thus reducing the possibility of delays on the screen and the user experience itself. The only negative point is that you still need a hardware device that the company sells at a price of $ 99 to make the team create that is connected to an external monitor.
Therefore, it is necessary to assess very well if the investment compensates or is more worth buying a monitor that for just over 200 euros there are already even with 4K resolution panels. Although the positive part is that this adapter and Luna Display software is compatible with Windows, so you can use your Mac as a second screen for a PC.
Sidecar and iPads
Finally, we have been talking about using the Mac screen as an external monitor and that is interesting if, for example, you want to play the console and the idea of having another monitor or television in the room does not appeal to you. Although if what you want is to expand the desktop of your Mac, you may want to remember that you can do it through Sidecar and the use of an iPad .
Thanks to this feature that was unveiled not long ago, Mac and iPad users can use the screen of these second computers to extend or duplicate what they see on their Apple computer. In addition, this function is striking and interesting as it adapts certain elements of the interface and allows the use of the Apple Pencil.
Of course, in order to use Sidecar you have to have one of the following Mac computers:
- MacBook Pro 2016 onwards
- MacBook 2016 or later
- MacBook Air 2018 or later
- IMac models from 2017 or later, as well as iMac models (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac Pro
- Mac mini from 2018 or later
- 2019 Mac Pro
Likewise, not all iPad are compatible with Sidecar, the models that support this function are:
- iPad Pro, all models
- iPad 6th generation onwards
- iPad mini 5th generation onwards
- iPad Air 3rd generation onwards
Maybe it is not the ideal option or what you really want to do to take advantage of these screens from your old Macs, but if you have equipment that supports the function there is no doubt that it is an interesting and useful option. Especially because of the quality of the latest iPad Pro models when it comes to doing different creative tasks such as photo or video editing.
Turn your iMac into an external monitor
Of course, as a last option, if everything seen above does not convince you and you think you are handy enough to face a challenge like this: you can turn your iMac into a conventional monitor.
We already talked to you about this for a while, a user had bought the necessary components to remove part of the internal hardware of his Mac and take advantage of the 5K panel to have an external screen that fits aesthetically with his other 27 ″ iMac and had the same resolution and image quality.
