Of course. One of the best uses of iPad and iPad Pro is for drawing and digital painting, whether that’s for graphic design or digital art. The Apple Pencil Pro or Apple Pencil 2 are great for iPad art. Read our Procreate review to see what you can do with an iPad and connect your stylus to an iPad with our guide.
If you’re wondering how to use an iPad as a drawing tablet with a PC, you’re not alone. Apple‘s hardware famously doesn’t play well with other systems and generally likes you to keep things in-house, but there are ways to make an iPad talk to a PC, most of which don’t require much tech know-how.
Essentially, you want your PC to be able to mirror your iPad’s screen, allowing you take advantage of a larger monitor or desktop setup, and while this isn’t possible through Apple’s own software, a number of third-party apps and programs have sprung up to fill the gap. And with modern iPad Pro and iPad Air models being serious contenders for the best drawing tablet, there are plenty of reasons you might want to do this instead of using a dedicated pen tablet.
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How to use an iPad as a drawing tablet with a PC using Astropad Studio
Astropad Studio has been around as an iPad app for years – it used to be one of the best ways to turn an iPad into a drawing tablet by connecting it up to a Macbook (before Apple started doing that themselves with Sidecar). More recently, the makers have expanded the utility of Astropad Studio to provide a way for an iPad to interface with a PC in a venture that was initially known as ‘Project Blue’.
You need to download two applications – one for the iPad, and one for the PC. Once you’ve got those, you connect the iPad to the PC either wirelessly or via USB, and then you’re free to use all your favourite drawing apps on your desktop or laptop display. If your setup can accommodate the physical connection then it is noticeably better, with reduced latency.
It’s worth noting that Astropad Studio is not just mirroring software, and has been designed to help you use your iPad and PC as a drawing studio. It allows you to create customisable workspaces within your apps, interfacing with Magic Gestures to make it easy to call up specific tools when you need them.
The downside to Astropad Studio is that it’s only free for a brief 14-day trial – after that, you have to pay a subscription, which for individuals starts at $79 per year. It’s not cheap, but if you are serious about using your iPad and PC as a professional drawing studio, it could well be worth it.
How to use an iPad with a PC using Duet Display
Designed by former Apple engineers, Duet Display is a desktop-mirroring/extending iPad tool that has been around for years – and supports Windows computers as well as Apple ones. It’s a download for the iPad and for Windows; once you’ve got and launched the apps, all you need to do is connect the iPad to your PC via USB. Duet will then boot up automatically and start mirroring or expanding your desktop. You may want to adjust resolution in your PC settings if your monitor resolution is wildly different to that of your iPad, but otherwise, you’re good to go.
The team updates the application regularly, and are continually adding all sorts of improvements. Even the most basic plan, Duet Studio (more on plans below) offers gesture control and support for styluses like the Apple Pencil Pro, with a connection that has effectively zero lag.
Duet Display is optimised to run with minimal drain on the CPU and the battery, meaning you can keep drawing for longer without needing to run off and find a power socket. There is also a highly responsive support team on hand, so if you run into problems getting the software to work, they’ll be able to troubleshoot a few effective solutions.
You used to be able to buy Duet Display as a standalone app with a one-time purchase, but it appears the team have wholly moved over to the subscription model, which is a shame if not a surprise. The cheapest tier, and probably the one suited to most users, is Duet Studio, which starts at$6 per month, billed annually. If you want remote desktop features, you can upgrade to the Pro version, which starts at $7 per month.
How to use an iPad with a PC using EasyCanvas 2025
EasyCanvas2025 is an easy-to-use, one-size-fits-all program that will allow pretty much any iPad to mirror or expand the desktop of most PCs. The app is available to download for both PC and iPad, and you only get a 3-day free trial – however, you can pay $12.99 up front rather than signing up for a subscription, which is very welcome is these wallet-punishing times.
EasyCanvas is pretty much just plug and play, so it’s easy for anyone to use. Latency is noticeable but minimal, and the desktop display is rendered vividly. On Windows, you can also connect wirelessly, which is handy. The app supports pressure sensitivity with Apple Pencil styluses, though it may or may not work with your chosen drawing app. If you’re using Photoshop, the manufacturers recommend diving into the settings and changing the pen input from WinTab to tablet PC as a way to get pressure sensitivity working, and also to make sure you’re using a brush that supports pressure sensitivity.
It’s not quite as slick as Duet Display or Astropad, and lacks the dedicated support team on hand, but EasyCanvas is cheaper, doesn’t require a subscription, and does work really well.
Frequently asked questions:
Can I use iPad as a graphics tablet?
Is an iPad good for professional art?
Yes, some of the best digital art software is available for iPad, and even software for animation and video editing. For drawing alone, you don’t necessarily need a lot of computing power and even the basic iPad may be enough, while professionals are likely to appreciate the smoother performance of an iPad Pro or iPad Air.
Many professional artists and graphic designers will use an iPad to start a project and then move onto PC or Mac, some will do all of their work on iPad and continuously swap between desktop and iPad. For tips on choosing an Apple tablet, see our guide to the iPad generations and our pick of the best iPad for Procreate
And if you decide to go for an iPad, see our guide to how to draw on an iPad.
Can iPad replace a Wacom?
iPad is great for on the move digital art but even the iPad Pro is smaller than a Wacom Studio Pro and the standard iPad is less powerful. Wacom is the leading brand for digital art tablets for a reason, these are tailored to what artists need, from high-spec displays and stylus to Quick Keys and accessible features. Most artists will have an iPad and a Wacom (or Huion or Xencelabs) tablet and swap between the two – working on a desktop with a drawing tablet means you can work on a large monitor.
