Slouchpad: Mac Remote Control

Needs the free Slouchpad app on your Mac (https://slouchpad.com). Control it from the couch: a trackpad, a media remote and a keyboard, with a dark mode for dark rooms.

REQUIRES THE FREE SLOUCHPAD APP ON YOUR MAC (macOS 13 or later). Download it at slouchpad.com, open it from the menu bar, then enter the PIN it shows in this app. Without it, this app has nothing to connect to.

Slouchpad turns your iPhone into a trackpad and remote for your Mac. Sit back, pick up your phone, and control a video, your browser or the whole computer without leaning over a laptop.

TRACKPAD • Move the pointer, tap to click, tap with two fingers to right-click • Scroll with two fingers • Hold a finger still for a moment to drag windows or select text • Adjust how fast the pointer travels • Tap with three fingers to go back to the remote • Works in portrait and landscape

TYPING • Type with your iPhone's keyboard and the words appear on your Mac as you type, in whatever app is in front: a search box, a sign-in form, a document • Drag along the space bar to move the cursor, and the Mac's cursor follows • See what you are typing in large type on the Mac's screen, handy from across the room (it stays hidden in password fields, and you can switch it off) • The Return key submits a search • Four arrow keys above the keyboard move the cursor, including through text that was already there

REMOTE • Play and pause, skip back or forward, in streaming sites in your browser and in the Apple TV app; the arrow keys also move through music and photos • Fullscreen in the Apple TV app, Photos and QuickTime Player • A volume slider, and a menu to choose which speakers or headphones your Mac plays through • A brightness slider for each screen, all the way down to off • A fullscreen switch that stays in step with what your Mac is doing

APPS • See the apps in your Mac's Dock, in the Dock's own order, and the other apps that are open • Tap an app to bring it to the front, or to open it. Tap the app that is already in front to step through its windows • Hold an app to quit it, or to send its window to another screen

MAGNIFIER • Turn on your Mac's Zoom from your iPhone while you use the trackpad or the typing screen, to magnify around the pointer (needs Zoom's keyboard shortcut switched on in the Mac's Accessibility settings)

MADE FOR THE COUCH • A dark mode for dark rooms: black with white or any colour you choose, and a brightness control that goes dimmer than the iPhone's own screen • An optional fading trail behind the pointer on your Mac's screen while you use the trackpad, and a soft ping where it stops, in white or any colour you choose, to find it from across the room

SIMPLE AND PRIVATE • Connects over your own Wi-Fi network. Nothing goes through the internet, and there is no account to create • Pair once with the PIN shown on your Mac; too many wrong PINs pause pairing • If your iPhone can't find your Mac by itself, as on some guest and hotel Wi-Fi, choose Manual and type the address shown in the Slouchpad menu on your Mac • No ads, no tracking, and no personal data collected. Anonymous crash reports are sent only if you switch them on

GOOD TO KNOW • Slouchpad needs the free Slouchpad app on your Mac (macOS 13 or later). Download it at slouchpad.com • Your iPhone and Mac must be on the same Wi-Fi network • Apps, the magnifier and some other newer features need the latest Slouchpad on your Mac too. The iPhone tells you if your Mac's version is too old • Brightness works on the screens macOS lets apps control, such as the built-in display and Apple displays. Many other monitors can only be adjusted with their own buttons • No Mac to hand? Choose "Try without a Mac" on the Connection tab in settings to try every control