Not a remote desktop — a remote app
Remote desktop tools mirror your entire Mac: menu bar, dock, every window, crammed into a tablet screen. Apperture mirrors one app. Pick the window on your Mac, and it fills your iPad like an iPad app — no panning around a 27-inch desktop, no hunting for the cursor.
Things people stream
- A Mac-only tool you occasionally need from the couch or another room.
- A long-running task — an export, a render, a download manager — worth glancing at.
- A reference window (logs, dashboards, chat) beside your main work.
- Developer tools: Xcode, terminals, the iOS Simulator.
Input that feels native
Tap, scroll, and type — Apperture sends your input back to the Mac app. The iOS keyboard works for text entry, the app's menu bar is reachable remotely, and the clipboard can transfer between devices. Portrait and landscape both work; the stream adapts its quality to your connection automatically and reconnects on its own.
Private, on your own network
Pairing starts with a QR code on the Mac and requires the Mac owner's explicit approval. Streams are peer-to-peer over your private network, encrypted per session — deliberately no cloud relay. Read the security overview for details, or how Tailscale extends it beyond your home network.