Comparison

Handpad vs MXa

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

Head to head
About

Handpad

Features
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Handpad turns your iPhone into a precision wireless trackpad and keyboard for your Mac. Whether you're presenting, watching a movie, gaming, or just working from the couch โ€” your iPhone is your remote. โ€” TRACKPAD โ€” Slide, tap, and two-finger scroll just like a real MacBook trackpad. Sub-pixel precision, instant response, multi-touch gestures. โ€” SHORTCUTS THAT FIT THE MOMENT โ€” Customizable button grids for any scenario: โ€ข Movies โ€” play, pause, mute, fullscreen โ€ข Presentations โ€” next slide, previous, blackout โ€ข Games โ€” quick keys mapped to anything Switch between layouts instantly with a swipe. โ€” TYPE WITH YOUR NATIVE KEYBOARD โ€” Use your iPhone's full iOS keyboard to type into your Mac. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, emoji, voice dictation โ€” everything syncs to your Mac in real time. No more squinting at a remote keyboard across the room. โ€” CONNECTED IN SECONDS โ€” โ€ข Bluetooth pairs the first time โ€ข WiFi auto-boosts after that for lower latency โ€ข Works on the same local network โ€ข No router or hotspot configuration needed โ€” PRIVATE BY DESIGN โ€” Everything stays between your iPhone and your Mac. AES-256 encrypted link. Zero internet dependency. No accounts. No telemetry. No data collection. Your inputs never leave your local network. โ€” REQUIREMENTS โ€” โ€ข Free Handpad companion app for macOS โ€ข macOS 13 Ventura or later โ€ข Bluetooth and WiFi enabled โ€ข Both devices on the same local network for best performance โ€” FAQ โ€” Q: Does it work without internet? A: Yes. The app works entirely on your local network. Q: Does it support multiple Macs? A: One iPhone can pair with multiple Macs, with one active connection at a time. Q: Will my keyboard work the same? A: Yes โ€” Handpad uses your iPhone's native keyboard, so all your custom inputs, dictionaries, and IMEs work normally. Made with care. No tracking. No ads. Ever.

About

MXa

Features
Read full description

MXa turns your iPhone or iPad into a screen and a keyboard for a computer you own. You see the whole desktop, exactly as it is on the machine itself, and you drive all of it: move the pointer, click, scroll, type, send keyboard shortcuts, copy and paste between the two devices. Nothing is installed into the apps you work with over there. Getting in takes two numbers. The other machine shows a 9-digit ID and a 6-digit code; you type them here once. No account to create, no email to leave, no VPN to configure, no router port to open. On the same Wi-Fi the two devices talk directly and the picture never leaves your network. Over distance they meet at a relay that only moves bytes โ€” the 6-digit code never crosses the wire, and the keys are derived at the two ends, so what passes through the middle cannot be read there. The picture is H.264 at 30 frames per second, encoded by the hardware at the far end. On a thin connection the bitrate drops instead of the picture freezing. Lose signal, switch Wi-Fi, lock the screen and come back: the session rebuilds itself. Made for a finger, not for a mouse pretending to be one. Tap where you want the pointer, drag to scroll, pinch to zoom into a corner of a large desktop. The shortcut row sits on the software keyboard, so Command-Tab and Command-Q are one tap away instead of a hunt. Also here: a clipboard shared both ways, several displays to switch between, and text in Vietnamese or any other Unicode script typed straight through. WHAT YOU NEED A computer you own, running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with the free MXa desktop app on it โ€” and this device. Both ends are the same connection: no server to rent, no ports to open. On your own network there is no time limit. Over the internet a session ends after a while unless the machine you are reaching has been activated.

Screenshots

Handpad4 screens
MXa4 screens

Verdict

The call

Handpad and MXa are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Handpad versus MXa: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandpadMXa
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size3 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDLC39DEGREEDuy Pham

In-app purchases

None

Handpad

No in-app purchases

None

MXa

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handpad free?
Handpad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MXa free?
MXa is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Handpad or MXa have ads?
Neither Handpad nor MXa shows ads.

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