Turn your iPhone into a second screen
A real virtual display appears on your computer. Drag a window onto it, then drive that window straight from the iPhone in your hand — reading in bed, keeping messages in view, or as a presenter note screen.
- Stop spending a few hundred dollars on a second monitor
- It shows up in Displays settings exactly like a real one
- Show a single app window, or the whole desktop
Second display · RemoteCrab
A second monitor is the most expensive accessory a laptop can have
A 27-inch display costs a few hundred dollars, eats half the desk, only ever sits at one angle, and adds a cable to manage. Meanwhile the iPhone in the drawer — dust, charging every morning — has a screen, a touchscreen and a battery that are all still perfectly good.
A second screen in three steps
From nothing to a window on your phone usually takes under a minute.
- 1
Connect your device
With both devices on the same WiFi, RemoteCrab pairs and connects automatically.
- 2
Turn on Extended Display
Tap the display icon in the toolbar on your iPhone. A new display appears on the computer immediately.
- 3
Drag a window across
Select the new display in Displays settings, drag a window onto it, and the phone becomes that screen.
More than "one more screen"
The real value is that you can drive that window with your fingers and a trackpad, like a genuine display.
Follows the frontmost app
Switch apps on the computer and the phone follows automatically — no picking a window by hand.
Pin a single window
If you only care about Slack or one terminal, pin it and it stays put.
Jump to the whole desktop
Done with a given app? Show the entire desktop, exactly like Show Desktop.
Zoom, fit, magnify
Pinch to magnify a region, double-tap to zoom or reset, and toggle fill versus fit.
Modifiers anywhere
Hold ⌘⌥⌃⇧ and every tap, drag and scroll below carries them — like a real trackpad.
Immersive in landscape
Turn the phone sideways and the chrome gets out of the way, leaving the whole screen to the stream.
Uses people do not expect
These are the ones that end up in the daily routine.
- Reading long articles in bed — laptop on the nightstand, document on the phone, hands never leaving the screen.
- Watching messages without breaking flow — park Slack on the second screen, glance, move on.
- Presenter notes — put your notes on the phone during a talk so only you can see them.
- A second reference panel — code on one screen, logs and docs on the other.
- Travel light — a 6.1-inch second screen beats carrying a monitor.
What you need
- macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon (M-series)
- iOS / iPadOS 26 or later
- An iPhone or iPad — the larger iPad screen makes a better second display
- Both devices on the same WiFi network
The virtual display is only created while you are using it and released when you close it, so it never sits around consuming resources.
Bring a whole window into your pocket
Extended Display gives you another screen. Screen mirror goes further: the phone shows any app window on the computer, and you can tap, drag, scroll and pinch on it directly.
See screen mirror →Skip that second monitor
Download the desktop app, install it on your iPhone, and the two connect in seconds.