Universal Control rolls out to iPhones and iPads with iOS 15.4

Apple is rolling out a significant iOS, iPadOS and macOS feature called ‘Universal Control’ that makes its various operating systems work together seamlessly.

This update seems too good to be true, but the promise is that you can simply place a Mac beside an iPad and use each device from the Mac’s keyboard and mouse setup. It even allows you to drag and drop files from one device to the other as if there are two displays connected to the same MacBook. This feature was first shown off to significant hype back at WWDC 2021.

I’ll update this post once I go hands-on with the software.

However, there are some rules regarding each device that do take getting used to. For example, you can drag a file from the iPad to your MacBook and drop it on the home screen, but to drop files onto the iPad, you need to make sure that an app is open that accepts that file type.

To take advantage of ‘Universal Control, you need to make sure that all of your devices are updated to the latest version of Apple’s software. You need to update iOS and iPadOS 15.4 and newer and macOS 12.3. All the updates are available now.

Other features

The update even allows iPhone users to unlock their phones with a mask on. You can learn more about that feature here, but just know that you need to rescan your face with a mask on to enable it.

After you update, your phone should prompt you to set it up, but you can also re-scan your face from the Face ID & Passcode. Beyond that, there’s also a new Siri voice that’s gender-neutral if you’re using U.S. English.

There are also a handful of new emojis added , including a new biting lip icon that will likely catch on quickly.