A few days ago, we posted this photo on our Instagram:
Some of you killed which app we were talking about.
O Duet Display, which was even created by former Apple engineers.
The idea is not at all innovative: one of the first apps created for this purpose, Air Display, was launched in mid 2010. But Duet Display is the first one that I actually managed to use, mainly because it has no delay and for a very simple reason: it works via the USB cable, not via Wi-Fi.
For those who haven't yet understood, Duet Display turns your iPad (and even iPhone if you want, but it doesn't make much sense) into a second monitor for the Mac. There you can play and manipulate windows at will, in order to increase your productivity .
Watch the promotional video:
I tried to use Duet Display right when it was released, but the bugs were many. With the update that came out about two weeks ago, it looks pretty cool, although it's still not perfect.
Integration with the Mac depends on downloading an app available on its official website, which requires OS X 10.9 or higher. The installation is very simple and you get a Duet icon in the menu bar of the operating system, where you can control its use and make small settings.
One of the available adjustments concerns the screen resolution of the iPad. There are three options: "Regular" (default), "Retina" (same size as the previous one, but with a higher pixel density, that is, sharper) and "High Resolution" (everything is too small, it's hard to use like that). Personally, I would love an intermediate size option between the latter two. I talked to the Duet developers about it and they told me that they are checking the feasibility.
Overall the application is already very cool and you can use it smoothly. You will still notice some visual artifacts here and there, and from time to time some unexpected crashes. Here in my tests, for example, I saw my Mac restart itself 2-3 times when I pressed my mouse button to show the table (Desktop) by Mission Control. But there are some very specific things that should be fixed soon.
For the price charged, this was the typical app that would fall very well to be tested before the user hits the hammer on the purchase. Unfortunately Apple does not yet offer this option on the App Store, but if you have ever worked in an environment with multiple monitors, you will hardly regret it.
