Open Adaptive Switch vs Sill

Open Adaptive Switch is the companion app for a do-it-yourself Bluetooth accessibility switch. It lets a caregiver set up and manage the switch from an iPhone or iPad, with no cables and no computer. Please note: this app requires the matching hardware. Open Adaptive Switch is an open-source switch that you build yourself from inexpensive parts (a Seeed XIAO nRF52840 board, a button, and a small battery) for roughly ~$15. Full build instructions and firmware are free at github.com/mikavj/open-adaptive-switch. Without the hardware, the app has nothing to connect to. The switch works with iOS Switch Control, so a single button press can tap the screen, run a recipe, or drive the scanner, giving people with limited mobility an affordable way to use an iPad or iPhone. With the app you can: Choose the key the button sends, from a full list including the F13-F24 keys that pair cleanly with Switch Control, plus letters, numbers, and common keys, with modifiers. Switch between single-key, tap-or-hold, and short/medium/long press modes, so one button can trigger up to three actions. Set how long the switch waits before it sleeps to save battery. Rename the switch and pick a color in the app to match the button you built. See the battery level and charging state, including in the list of nearby switches before you connect. Install firmware updates over Bluetooth, choose any released version, or roll back if needed. The app collects no personal data. It uses Bluetooth to reach your switch and contacts GitHub only to check for firmware updates, which you can turn off. Open Adaptive Switch is free and open-source, built to make assistive technology affordable for families, classrooms, and anyone who needs it.

Sill shows a window from your Mac, or its whole desktop, on your iPhone or iPad, and lets you use it with touch, a keyboard, a touchscreen trackpad or Apple Pencil. It streams straight from your Mac to your device over your own network, so there is no account to create and no server in between. You pair each device once, and every connection is encrypted. Both parts are free: the Sill app for iPhone and iPad, and Sill for Mac. Streaming: * Any single Mac window, or the whole Desktop, on your iPhone or iPad * Hardware HEVC video, up to 120 fps on ProMotion screens (60 elsewhere); the rate follows each device * Seven bitrate quality presets, from Low (4 Mbps) to Extreme (150 Mbps), plus Resolution, a frame-rate limit and Prioritize Encoding Speed * Text size (Aa): resizes your Mac window to fit your screen, so text is the size you want * Optional virtual display: a window streams from its own HiDPI display, sized to your device, and keeps updating even when covered on your Mac; full-screen video works too Controls: * Touch: tap to click, drag to scroll with momentum, touch and hold to right-click * Apple Pencil as the mouse, with hover * Software and hardware keyboards, with ⌘, ⌃ and ⌥ shortcuts, plus a key row with latching modifiers and a Spotlight key * Laptop layout when you hold the device upright: the picture on top, a key row and a trackpad (two-finger scroll, two-finger tap, hold then drag, three-finger gestures for Mission Control, App Exposé, switching Spaces, Apps and Show Desktop) * Dedicated iPhone and iPad layouts * Each Mac app's menus (File, Edit, View, etc) on your device, behind a Menus button * Window thumbnails: switch with a tap; hold one for close, minimize and full screen; drag to reorder * An Apps drawer: open windows and all installed apps, with search, and it launches apps Connecting: * Finds your Mac automatically; each Mac has 4 modes: Wired, Wi-Fi, Direct or Remote * USB cable (Wired) support, and a live session moves between the cable and Wi-Fi without dropping * Direct Wireless Connection (Direct, optional), for when you and your Mac don't share a network * Remote Access from anywhere through your own VPN, such as Tailscale, or a port forward * Pairing: every connection encrypted with TLS 1.3; pair each device once by QR code or a 12-digit code, and a USB cable pairs by itself; Require pairing is on by default * Your Mac keeps its keys in the protected part of its keychain that only Sill can read Sill for Mac: * A ~6 MB menu bar app with a live status card: each device, its frame rate and latency * Settings: General, Devices, Streaming, Virtual Display, Remote Access and Permissions * Launch at Login, a log window, and an update check that tells you when a new version is out * A notarized disk image download from getsill.app Sill for iPhone and iPad: * A Settings panel that changes your Mac's stream settings, and shows the connection and latency * A first-run tour, and Take the Tour to replay it * Tells you when your Mac or the device needs an update Free and open source (Apache 2.0) No account, no servers, no tracking: video goes straight from your Mac to your device, forever! Website: https://getsill.app/ GitHub: https://github.com/Saffsanity/sill Site GitHub: https://github.com/Saffsanity/sill-site