Tab Display
Tab Display app icon

An Android tablet as a second display for your Mac.

Tab Display is a Mac menu bar app that streams your desktop to an Android tablet over a USB cable. Pen and touch work like a real display.

~26 msaverage latency
Hardware HEVCover USB
USB-Cwired connection
Download macOS 14 or later

View source on GitHub

The Mac's desktop shown on a tablet, with a sketch drawn using the tablet's stylus
Your Mac's desktop, on the tablet. Drawn with the stylus.

Screenshots

The Mac menu shows status and live latency. The tablet explains what to do when it isn't connected.

The Tab Display menu in the Mac menu bar, showing status, live latency, display size and quality
The Mac menu Status, live latency, display size and quality.
A tablet screen explaining how to set up Tab Display
Guided setup The tablet walks you through connecting.
  1. 1

    Plug it in

    Connect the tablet with a USB-C cable.

  2. 2

    It becomes a display

    Tab Display creates a virtual display and streams it over the cable.

  3. 3

    Draw and touch

    Stylus and touch work like a real display, with pressure and tilt.

What it does

The features that make a second display feel like a real one.

Extended desktop over USB

Over a USB-C cable. Plug in and the tablet becomes a second display.

Sharp at native resolution

HiDPI at the tablet's native resolution. Text sharpens when the screen is idle.

Stylus pressure and tilt

Hover moves the pointer, the side button right-clicks, and it works in pressure-aware apps.

Touch with momentum

One- and two-finger scrolling, tap to click, and two-finger tap to right-click.

Any orientation

Rotate the tablet and the Mac's display reshapes in place. Split-screen works too.

Hardware encoding

ScreenCaptureKit, VideoToolbox HEVC, USB and MediaCodec. No CPU pixel copies, about 26 ms.

What you'll need

On your Mac

  • Apple silicon
  • macOS 14 or later
  • Screen Recording and Accessibility permission

On your tablet

  • Android 14 or later
  • A hardware HEVC or H.264 decoder
  • A USB-C cable that carries data

Download Tab Display

The Mac app and the tablet app are both on GitHub.

Get the latest release

macOS 14 or later

View source on GitHub

The first time you use it

  1. Download the DMG and drag Tab Display into your Applications folder.
  2. Open it, grant Screen Recording and Accessibility when asked, then quit and reopen.
  3. Turn on USB debugging on the tablet, plug it in, and click Install in the menu.
  4. Click Connect next to the tablet. It connects automatically from then on.

Tab Display installs its own tablet app over USB. You can also sideload the APK from the same release.

Questions

How does it connect?

Over a USB-C cable. Just plug in the tablet and it becomes a second display.

Will it work with my tablet?

If it runs Android 14 or later and has a hardware HEVC or H.264 decoder, it should work. The tablet reports its resolution, size, refresh rate and decoders, and the Mac adapts.

How fast is it?

About 26 ms on average from the Mac compositing a frame to it reaching the tablet's screen, on an M3 MacBook Air with a Galaxy Tab S9. The menu shows a live latency chart.

Why does macOS show a purple recording indicator?

Tab Display captures its virtual display with ScreenCaptureKit, so macOS shows the purple screen-recording indicator while the tablet is connected.

Is it open source?

Yes. Tab Display is free and open source.