An Apple patent discovered by Patently Apple imagines a future Mac computer with Apple Pencil support.

While using an Apple Pencil with a Mac currently involves including an iPad in the process, this could change in the future. Universal Control is available for macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15, and is a great addition for creatives looking to use their Apple Pencil and Mac to their fullest potential. The mouse and files flow seamlessly from iPad to Mac as if they've always been able to - creating a pretty magical workflow. This means someone can use the Apple Pencil on their iPad and draw how they normally would with all of their favorite apps. Once someone finishes their artwork and wants to move it to their Mac, they can move their Mac's mouse cursor over to the iPad, select the drawing, and drag it over to the Mac. However, where Sidecar just turns an iPad into a secondary monitor for a Mac, Universal Control allows the iPad to continue running iPadOS while syncing seamlessly with a paired Mac. Announced in June 2021, Universal Control is similar to Sidecar in that it allows a Mac and iPad to work together. It's also worth mentioning that this experience becomes even better when used alongside Universal Control. Graphics pads are still available for the Mac computer, but models that include screens often cost more than an iPad, making it difficult to justify the expense for such a specialized device. A mouse is wonderful for selecting text and precisely aligning objects and images when compositing layers, but the natural feel of a pencil can't be beaten for freeform artwork. Long before the iPad or any other modern computer tablet existed, the stylus and graphics pad were developed to make computer art more intuitive. The Mac computer has long been associated with creative work, favored by many production studios in Hollywood for film work and artists worldwide for graphic arts and digital paintings. Quick sketches made with an Apple Pencil and iPad can also be inserted directly into Mac apps that accept images. The trick is to use one of Apple's Continuity features to wirelessly share the Mac screen with an iPad. The Apple Pencil can't be used natively with Mac computers as the displays don't have the touch support required, but there is a way to paint or draw on an iPad using Apple's stylus and duplicate the content on a Mac.

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