Privacy First · Open Source
Native Performance USB-C Connection Universal Binary HiDPI Ready

Your tablet, your second screen.

Transform your Android tablet into a second display for your Mac via USB-C. Under 30ms latency, hardware accelerated, gaming ready.

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Built by an indie developer.

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Side Screen — MacBook with Android tablet as second display via USB-C

One seamless experience.

Built for performance, designed for simplicity

Virtual Display

Create a true virtual monitor on your Mac. Drag windows to your tablet just like a real display — not mirroring, but extending your workspace.

macOS Display Preferences showing SideScreen virtual display

Under 30ms Latency

Async pipeline with hardware H.265 on both ends. Buttery smooth frames with Choreographer vsync alignment.

Side Screen streaming with stats overlay showing FPS and bitrate

Fully Customizable

Resolution up to 8K, 30–120 FPS, Gaming Boost mode, HiDPI (Retina) for pixel-perfect sharpness. Fine-tune everything from the Mac app.

macOS Settings — Display configuration macOS Settings — Streaming and status

One-Tap Connect

Plug in USB-C, tap Connect, done. Touch input with prediction makes interaction feel native.

Android app connection screen with checklist

Get started in 3 steps

From download to second screen in under 5 minutes

1

Download & Install

Get Side Screen for your Mac and install the Android app on your tablet.

2

Connect via USB

Plug your tablet into your Mac with a USB-C cable. Port forwarding is handled automatically.

3

Enjoy!

Launch both apps and tap Connect. Your tablet is now a second display!

Download Side Screen

Free and open source. Always.

GitHub Releases

Download from GitHub

Download

Build from Source

Clone the repo and build yourself

git clone https://github.com/tranvuongquocdat/SideScreen

macOS Gatekeeper: Open DMG, drag to Applications. If macOS says "damaged":

sudo xattr -cr /Applications/SideScreen.app

⚠️ ADB Required: The Mac app needs adb to communicate with your Android device. If the app doesn't show "Running", install ADB first:

1. Install Homebrew (if you don't have it):

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install ADB:

brew install --cask android-platform-tools
macOS 14.0+ Apple Silicon & Intel Android 8.0+

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work wirelessly?

Currently, Side Screen uses USB-C for the most stable, low-latency connection. WiFi support is planned for a future release.

macOS says "SideScreen is damaged"

This happens because the app isn't notarized by Apple. Open Terminal and run: sudo xattr -cr /Applications/SideScreen.app, then open the app again.

What's the latency like?

With the optimized async pipeline (hardware H.265 encoding, Choreographer vsync, TCP_NODELAY), you can expect under 30ms end-to-end latency — smooth enough for productivity and casual gaming.

Does it work with iPad?

Currently, only Android tablets are supported. iOS support may be considered in the future.

Is it really free?

Yes! Side Screen is free and open source under the MIT license. If you find it useful, consider supporting development.

Do I need to run any terminal commands?

No! The Mac app automatically runs adb reverse to set up port forwarding when streaming starts. Just make sure adb is installed (via brew install android-platform-tools).