Comparison

iDisplay vs Yam Display

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

iDisplay

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a touch-enabled secondary display for your Mac or Windows computer. Extend your desktop space, interact with apps like Excel and Photoshop, and enjoy a seamless extension of your computer's capabilities wirelessly or via cable.

Highlights
  • External touch-screen display
  • Mirror or extend desktop
  • Full desktop app support
  • Touch interaction
  • Wireless or cable connection
  • Portrait/landscape rotation
  • Retina display support
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPad or iPhone into an additional touch-screen display for your Mac or Windows computer or mirror your desktop. All usual desktop apps, such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint or Photoshop, are available with desktop features on iPad and iPhone, touch-enabled. Works with both, Lightning and 30-pin cable connection or Wifi on macOS (with almost 0 latency). Double your personal productivity by extending your computer screen. Perfect tool for multitaskers, iDisplay lets you use your iPad and iPhone as an interactive touch-screen wireless display to give you more screen real estate. Works with up to 60fps. Recommended by Kim Komando, tech guru of USA Today. "iDisplay app turns your iPad or iPhone into secondary screen – too good to be true. That's... brilliant. I mean, I can think of about a billion uses for this." MobileCrunch "Yet another reason to buy an iPad: iDisplay" MobileWhack Why choose iDisplay over hardware display? Your iPad, iPad Pro, iPhone and iPod touch can be your secondary display. Works with both Mac and Windows computers. iDisplay lets you interact with your additional display: move objects, draw, control playback. Pan and zoom your desktop right on iOS device. Easily switch between portrait and landscape screen orientations: simply rotate your device and it will adjust automatically. Normal and double resolution modes for Retina displays. Customize display settings for each device you use as your secondary display, iDisplay will remember your preferences. Work with Excel, Word, Power Point and other apps and have all desktop features available on your iPad or iPhone. On macOS you can choose one of the following iDisplay modes: Use iDisplay as a regular secondary display: gives you more screen space for everything you have to keep your eye on. Mirror image from main display on your iPad / iPhone: comes in handy when you need to share your desktop with your audience. Keep in mind that iDisplay allows to connect multiple devices to one Mac! Yes, lots of them! Many colleges use iDisplay. On Windows, iDisplay can be used as a regular secondary display. COMPATIBILITY: macOS iDisplay Desktop application needs to be installed on your Mac. iDisplay Desktop is free and can be downloaded anytime at getidisplay.com iDisplay is compatible with Macs with Intel CPUs running on Mac OS X 10.9 and later. macOS Sierra supported! Windows iDisplay Desktop application needs to be installed on your PC. iDisplay Desktop is free and can be downloaded anytime at getidisplay.com iDisplay is compatible with Windows XP (32­bit only), Windows Vista (32­ and 64­bit), Windows 7 (32­ and 64­bit), Windows 8 and Windows 10. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 "Aero" theme may be disabled when connected to iDisplay and will be re­enabled upon disconnection). NETWORK CONNECTIVITY Your computer and iOS device must be connected by cable or to the same Wi­Fi network.

About

Yam Display

Transform your iPad or iPhone into a second display for your Mac using a USB connection. Enjoy lag-free browsing and video playback, and control your Mac with touch gestures. Enhance multitasking with Split View and streamline your workflow with features like Drag and Drop and Teleprompter Mode.

Highlights
  • Second display for Mac
  • USB wired connection
  • Minimal lag
  • Touch gesture control
  • Split View support
  • Drag and Drop (In-App Purchase)
  • Teleprompter Mode (In-App Purchase)
Features
Read full description

# iPad/iPhone as a second display for Mac via USB # Yam Display turns your iPad/iPhone into a second display for your Mac. Wired by USB, browse documents or watch videos without delay. Control your Mac with touch gestures and keyboard on your iPad. For multitasking enabled iPads, you can utilize every single pixel of your screen in Split View. Plus features such as Drag and Drop and Teleprompter Mode will make your workflow more efficient. Yam Display is fast, secure, simple and will help you to improve your productivity. Key Features: - Minimal lag for browsing or video playback - Energy efficient for static screens - Retina display - 60 FPS / 30 FPS - Split View (iOS 9 or later) - Touch gestures: Click / Zoom / Scroll / Drag / Rotate - Virtual Touch Bar (for Mac with macOS Sierra 10.12.2 or later) - Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Plus Features (In-App Purchase): - Drag and Drop between iPad and Mac (iOS 11 or later) - Teleprompter Mode System Requirements: - iOS devices with iOS 7.1 or later - Macs with macOS 10.9 or later Download app for Mac from: yamdisplay.com (free) For any questions or suggestions: help@yamdisplay.com

Screenshots

iDisplay4 screens
Yam Display4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Yam Display at 70% against iDisplay's 20%. Yam Display also leads on rating (4.3 vs 1.9). iDisplay's advantage is price (Free vs $7.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

iDisplay is free to download; Yam Display costs $7.99 up front. Yam Display sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. iDisplay asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Yam Display holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 1.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 105 and 82 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of iDisplay's written reviews are positive against 70% of Yam Display's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iDisplay ships an update every 6 weeks, Yam Display every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
iDisplay versus Yam Display: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriDisplayYam Display
PriceFree — better$7.99
Rating1.9 (105 ratings)4.3 (82 ratings) — better
Positive reviews19.7% of reviews70.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings105 — better82
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.07.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSHAPE GmbHYamstu Inc.

Customer experience

iDisplay

All ratings105 ratings
Positive21.0%
Neutral1.9%
Negative77.1%
Written reviews233 reviews
Positive19.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative76.4%

Yam Display

All ratings80 ratings
Positive82.5%
Neutral1.3%
Negative16.3%
Written reviews154 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative22.7%

Bugs and requests

iDisplay

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incompatibility with newer OS versions
  • Phantom display issues
  • Crashes and freezes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Support for more devices and OSes
  • Improved responsiveness and stability
  • Better resolution handling
  • Wired connection option

Yam Display

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iDisplay

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Yam Display

One-time2
  • Drag and DropFree
  • Teleprompter ModeFree

Questions

Is iDisplay free?
iDisplay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Yam Display free?
Yam Display costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iDisplay or Yam Display?
Yam Display is rated higher. iDisplay averages 1.9 out of 5 from 105 ratings, while Yam Display averages 4.3 from 82 ratings.
Do iDisplay or Yam Display have ads?
Neither iDisplay nor Yam Display shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iDisplay or Yam Display?
iDisplay ships an update every 6 weeks, and Yam Display every 3 months. Most recently, iDisplay was updated on October 24, 2026 and Yam Display on October 24, 2026.

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