Updated Duet app turns your iPad into a monitor running iOS and Mac apps

Get dual monitor productive on the go.

Duet Display, the $9.99 app that turns a tethered iPad or iPhone into an extra display for your Mac or Windows PC, is now more capable than ever thanks to performance improvements and new split-screen multitasking support. Available to download now from the Apple App store, version 1.2 lets you dedicate any iPad or iPhone display for use as a second monitor. Or you can allocate two-thirds of the display for Mac apps if you own an iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro, while the other third can be used for your favorite split-screen iOS apps.

I’m using the new version right now on the original iPad mini connected to a 2014 MacBook Pro retina It’s a very impressive, and very portable dual-display setup with zero lag, unlike traditional screen-sharing apps that rely upon Wi-Fi. I can even watch 1080p videos at 60fps over Duet. The setup does, however, require that the iPad or iPhone be tethered to the Mac or PC via a 30-pin or Lightning cable.

The Duet experience is close to, but not exactly like using a dedicated display. For example, there's the occasional graphical weirdness (app flicker when dragging windows from one display to the other) when running at the most conservative, energy-efficient settings. And twice over the last few days of testing we’ve had to quit the frozen app and relaunch to clear up connectivity issues. However, compared to previous versions of Duet, 1.2 feels much more stable and my MacBook Pro retina CPU isn’t nearly as taxed (the release notes claim a 50 percent reduction of Mac CPU usage).

Bottom line: if you own an iPad and crave a portable dual-display setup for your Mac or PC, then the $9.99 spent on Duet will be money well spent.