How to use your iPad Pro in ‘clamshell mode,’ sort of, with iPadOS 17

When Apple launched the all-new stage supervisor and prolonged monitor assist for the M-powered iPads, I had one thought: Can I use my iPad in clamshell mode? With a extra conventional macOS setup, I’d all the time shut my MacBook Air and use an exterior show in order to maintain my desk freed from muddle. Do you additionally use clamshell mode, or do you use the built-in MacBook show as extra display actual property in a desk setup?

To my dismay, once I examined clamshell mode on iPad Pro with iPadOS 16, the exterior show went black, and it wasn’t till I opened the iPad Pro once more that the exterior show got here again. I accepted the shortage of clamshell mode and moved on.

What is ‘clamshell’ mode?

Clamshell mode has been a characteristic that MacBooks and plenty of different computer systems have had for years. It provides you the power to join your laptop computer to an exterior show and shut the laptop computer fully however nonetheless have the option to use a secondary show. Basically, it turns your laptop computer right into a desktop answer. People prefer it as a result of it declutters your desk however nonetheless permits you to use the laptop computer’s I/O.

When the iPad introduced out its new prolonged monitor assist, individuals have been hoping it might have this functionality, however sadly, it didn’t. Even once I tried the characteristic with the brand new iPadOS 17 Beta, the identical end result occurred. If the iPad display goes black, so does the prolonged show.

The workaround

Now earlier than readers begin spamming the feedback, this isn’t true clamshell mode. True clamshell mode kills the display of the host pc and strikes every little thing from that show to the exterior monitor. This is not going to do this. But this workaround will enable you to shut your iPad Pro, join a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and nonetheless have the option to use stage supervisor on an exterior show.

Here is the way you do it:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Lock/unlock > Toggle Off

Again, that is only a workaround that will get you to what you need, which is the power to shut your iPad Pro, set it off to the facet, and simply use iPadOS on a bigger major show. I personally like this concept – it won’t be nice for the display of the iPad Pro, however I normally have it set to by no means locking anyway. So in case you are superb with the iPad Pro display being on, then this could possibly be an answer for you!

Final take

As I said earlier, this answer isn’t an ideal one, but it surely will get you to the place you may want to be. I’ve been tucking my iPad Pro beneath my monitor stand when Im utilizing it in “clamshell” mode. I do hope Apple brings us an actual type of clamshell mode in a future iteration of iPadOS. As of now, if you happen to even pull down the notification tray on the primary iPad show, then the monitor will go right into a locked mode, so clearly, Apple has not created a legit clamshell mode for iPad. But as increasingly individuals undertake the iPad as their major pc, I might see this coming to fruition.

What do you concentrate on this? Is clamshell mode a characteristic you need for your iPad? Do you not care about it? Is this workaround one thing you’ll use? Let’s talk about in the feedback beneath!