Free · Mac + your old iPad

Your old iPad,
back on your desk.

OldPadDeck turns the old iPad in your drawer into a Stream Deck-style controller and a live dashboard for your Mac. Nothing to install on the iPad: it's all in Safari.

Free · macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel · Signed and notarized by Apple

Deck mode: app keys, screenshot key, now playing, volume slider, internet speed and device batteries Cockpit mode: CPU per core, memory ring, Mac battery, temperatures, top processes Focus mode: Pomodoro timer, today's reminders, now playing Studio mode: now playing, audio output picker with AirPlay speakers, volume and microphone sliders Pad mode: trackpad, shortcut keys and text input Standby mode: a large clock, the weather and a few numbers Edit mode: widgets can be moved, resized, configured or replaced

  • Any iPad from 2013 on
  • No App Store, no jailbreak
  • In the app: no account, no cloud, no analytics
  • Hardware you already own
Edit mode with handles to move and resize widgets
No fixed layouts

Every widget moves.

Every screen is a grid of widgets. Tap ✎ and arrange it the way you work.

  • Move, resize, replace or delete any widget, with undo.
  • Add from the catalog: some two dozen widgets in six categories, each with its own settings.
  • Your own tabs: up to six. Rename, delete or swap the built-in modes for your own.
  • Saved on the Mac. App updates never overwrite a layout you've customised.
Studio mode with the audio output list: Mac outputs and AirPlay speakers
Sound, sorted

One list for every speaker.

Pick where the Mac's sound goes from the iPad: built-in speakers, a display, wired or USB, a Bluetooth headset, or an AirPlay speaker on your network.

  • Its own AirPlay sender streams all of the Mac's sound to a compatible speaker, not just the Music app.
  • Bluetooth headsets that are paired but asleep connect with one tap.
  • Volume follows: the slider and the Mac's volume keys drive whatever is playing.
Small things that add up

It feels like it belongs there.

It follows you

Switch to Spotify and the iPad goes to Studio; start a Pomodoro and it goes to Focus. Pin a mode to stop that.

It talks

Optional voice announcements for a low battery or the end of a Pomodoro.

It rests

After 10 idle minutes it switches to Standby: a big clock, the weather and a few numbers.

Your language

The iPad interface is in English, or in French when the iPad is set to French.

Built for an old iPad

A small bundle checked against Safari 12 on every build, made to run all day on 1 GB of RAM.

Paired, not open

A one-time PIN to pair, local network only, and every device can be revoked from the menu bar.

Get going

Three steps, five minutes.

Install the Mac app

Download the disk image, drag OldPadDeck to Applications and open it. An iPad icon appears in the menu bar.

OldPadDeck.dmg

Pair the iPad

Open Pair a Device… from the menu bar, then scan the QR code with the iPad or type the 6-digit PIN in Safari.

Make it a desk display

In Safari: Share → Add to Home Screen. Set Auto-Lock to Never and keep it on its charger.

OldPadDeck icon

Take the iPad out of the drawer.

Free, and built on hardware you already own.