31 Days, 31 Products: Duet

Day 06: Duet

This post is part of a larger series where for 31 days I’m posting a story about a particular product or service I’ve come to enjoy.

Duet is a new addition to my toolset, one of the many apps I bought after getting my iPad Pro, and wow is it good. Duet lets you use your iPad as a secondary monitor and unlike some previous Airplay-based solutions of the past, Duet actually uses a wired connection for a zero lag experience. To run Duet you’ll install an app on the iPad and then a secondary app on your Mac or Windows desktop machine. When the iOS app launches you’ll instantly connect and have a secondary monitor available in System Preferences, just like a “real” monitor. The connection process is seamless and there is no lag on the iPad.

I’ve been using Duet at home with my iMac and it’s so helpful to have the extra space for chat rooms or long running videos. I was also considering buying a portable monitor to use while I’m on the road teaching (one screen for slide and Xcode demo, and the other for my notes) and Duet looks like it will solve that problem too.

As mentioned above it takes two apps to run Duet. The iOS app is available on the App Store for $15.99 and the Mac and Windows clients are free downloads available on their website.