Trackpad + keyboard for your Mac
Turn your iPhone or iPad into a wireless trackpad and keyboard for your Mac.
Lapdeck turns the iPhone or iPad already in your hand into a precise wireless trackpad and keyboard for your Mac. It is for anyone who wants to point, click, scroll, and type from across the room — leaning back on the couch, standing at a whiteboard, or driving a Mac wired to the TV — without reaching for a mouse. It runs entirely over your own Wi-Fi: no accounts, no cloud, nothing to install beyond the two apps.
A full Mac trackpad and a keyboard, in the device already in your hand.
A precise relative pointer, tuned to match the Mac's own acceleration so motion feels right from the first swipe. A sensitivity control dials the tracking speed to your hand.
Try the Refined interface prototype for two quiet edge bars: connection and utilities above, then Keyboard, your saved actions, and More below. Classic remains available as the stable fallback, and Orbit remains available for spatial corner controls.
Tap to click, two-finger tap to right-click, tap-and-drag to move things, and a three-finger drag for windows — the same gestures as a Mac trackpad.
Two-finger scrolling with real momentum: a flick coasts and settles, and Safari rubber-bands at the edges just like it should.
Summon a keyboard when you need it, with a real ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ modifier row, Esc, and arrows. Hold ⌘ and press Tab to walk the app switcher, exactly as on the Mac.
An orientation setting keeps the cursor tracking the direction of your hand — whether the device is upright, sideways, or lying flat on a table.
Encrypted pairing over your own Wi-Fi, peer-to-peer or on your network. No accounts, no telemetry, and nothing ever leaves your local link.
Two apps, one grant, one scan — about a minute, once.
It lives in the menu bar at the top of the screen — look for the pointer icon. There is no Dock icon and no window.
macOS opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility; switch Lapdeck Helper on. That is what lets it move the pointer and type for you.
The app is the trackpad surface. The keyboard appears only when you summon it.
In the Helper's menu choose Pair New Device, then scan the QR code with your phone — or type the six-digit code shown beside it. You're connected.
The same moves as the trackpad on your Mac.
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Move one finger | Move the pointer |
| Tap | Click |
| Two-finger tap | Right-click |
| Two-finger drag | Scroll, with momentum |
| Slide one finger along the scroll strip (optional) | Scroll vertically |
| Tap, then drag | Move or select |
| Three-finger drag | Drag windows |
Summon the keyboard with the Keyboard control; Classic uses its floating key button, while Refined keeps Keyboard in the lower bar. On iPhone, Settings → Keyboard can show four-finger swipe controls above the portrait keyboard. The modifier row behaves like a Mac's — tap a modifier to use it once, double-tap to lock it, or hold it while you press another key. Prefer a different grip? Change how the cursor tracks your hand under Settings → Pointer & Scrolling.
A few things that keep the connection smooth.
Open Settings → Appearance to choose the interface. Refined is the current prototype, with connection and utilities in one bar and Keyboard, saved actions, and More in another. Classic is the stable fallback; Orbit uses spatial corner controls. The choice changes presentation only—your gestures, keyboard and modifier state, connections, and saved actions stay the same.
In Settings → Pointer & Scrolling, enable Scroll strip and choose Left or Right. Slide along the strip to scroll vertically without sideways drift. On iPad, the wider strip sits separately beside the pad and accepts a fresh touch even while another finger rests on the pad. Small movements respond immediately, and its placement follows how you hold the device. Scroll speed, Natural scrolling, and Momentum apply to both scrolling methods. The strip is off by default and works independently of the Two-finger scrolling switch.
Your saved actions start with Esc, Undo, Copy, and Paste. Open More → Customize or Settings → Quick actions to add, remove, and reorder them. Pin up to five on iPhone or eight on iPad; actions that do not fit stay in More. You can hide the saved pins without deleting your choices; Refined keeps Keyboard and More available. Copy and Paste use your Mac’s clipboard. If editing shortcuts are dimmed while connected, update Lapdeck Helper.
iOS pauses apps in the background, so keep Lapdeck in the foreground while you use it. Switch away and the connection drops until you come back.
With Reconnect automatically enabled and Lapdeck in the foreground, temporary failures are retried automatically. After repeated failures, it checks about once a minute. A healthy connection stays ready even when you leave the trackpad untouched; switching away or locking the Mac still closes it safely.
Lapdeck Helper has no Dock icon and no window — look for the pointer icon in the menu bar at the top of your Mac's screen.
Make sure Lapdeck Helper is still switched on under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
Lapdeck is a link between two devices you own — nothing more.