Comparison

Duet Display vs UltimatePointer

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

Head to head
About

Duet Display

Transform your iPad or iPhone into an advanced, lag-free extra display for your Mac or PC. Interact with your computer using touch and gestures, and unlock professional drawing capabilities with Apple Pencil support.

Highlights
  • Extra display for Mac & PC
  • Lag-free performance
  • Touch and gesture support
  • Apple Pencil integration
  • Professional drawing tools
  • Portable productivity
Read full description

#1 best-selling iPad app in US, Japan, UK, Germany, and 17 other countries! Duet turns your iPad or iPhone into the most advanced extra display for your Mac & PC. Developed by a team of ex-Apple engineers, Duet offers unparalleled performance and display quality - all with zero lag. — DO MORE — Be twice as productive by multitasking with two screens. And for those that travel, have a portable way to stay productive. — INCREDIBLY SIMPLE — To get started, plug your iPad into your desktop using your charging cable. The free Duet desktop app will automatically detect your device, and transform it into a high performance touchscreen display. There’s no need to worry about unreliable Wi-Fi, laggy performance, pixelated screens or managing network passwords. — TOUCHSCREEN — Interact with Mac & PC like never before, with touch & gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pan and zoom. And with our latest release, you can even add a touch bar to any iPad with any Mac. — PERFECT FOR APPLE PENCIL — With Duet Pro, you can turn your iPad and Apple Pencil into a professional graphics tablet. We’ve re-engineered our rendering algorithms for ultra-responsive drawing, optimized specifically for designers, illustrators and artists. Duet Pro also unlocks pressure & tilt sensitivity, hover, palm rejection, and more to seamlessly draw in the most powerful programs for professionals. Get precise control in Photoshop, Corel Painter, Lightroom, ToonBoom, Illustrator, Manga Studio and more.  — PRESS — TechCrunch - "Feels Like Magic" TIME - "Getting Work Done Faster and More Efficiently" The Guardian - "Lag-free" Forbes - "The simple thing to note is this...Duet Display works." The Verge - "Glorious Fluidity" Lifehacker - "It's fast, easy to use, and works great" Business Insider - "Zero lag and true retina resolution” Wall Street Journal - “It’s as easy as just plugging it in" — REVIEWS — “Awesome! My iPad Pro can be an extra monitor! Cool app” ~CEO of T-Mobile, John Legere “Very smooth and responsive indeed, plus you could use the touch screen to “click” on screen interfaces!” ~Photographer, Lok Cheung “Love the ability to use my iPad as a monitor with Duet.” ~Former Chief Evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki “Just started using this app called Duet… Kinda love it so far.” ~Comedian and Youtube, Phillip DeFranco “All my mac folks look at the Duet app… GREAT!” ~Actor and Comedian, Sinbad  "I really like the app, I suppose the biggest compliment I can give is that it's so easy to setup it almost seems like an Apple product.” ~Early Adopter, M. Nightingale "Amazing solution for me by the way. Works as I was hoping for and actually my main reason for getting an iPad : )” ~Early Adopter, M. Gemzoe Duet Works With: All iPhones and iPads with iOS 7.0 and later All Macs with 10.9 (Mavericks) and later All PCs with Windows 7 and later Duet Pro Works With: All iPad Pros with Apple Pencil All Macs with 10.9 (Mavericks) and later All PCs with Windows 8.1 and later (64 bit) Duet Pro is an optional upgrade for additional features, and price may vary by location. Duet Pro subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. Manage Duet Pro in Account Settings after the optional upgrade. Learn more at http://www.duetdisplay.com Terms: https://www.duetdisplay.com/help-center/duet-terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy: https://www.duetdisplay.com/help-center/duet-privacy-policy

About

UltimatePointer

Transform your phone into an interactive laser pointer and mouse for your computer. Control presentations and navigate your screen with augmented reality and motion sensing technology. Advanced features are available through in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Interactive laser pointer
  • Mouse control
  • Presentation controls (Slide Forward/Back, Blank Screen)
  • Augmented Reality tracking
  • Motion sensing
  • Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity
Features
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With its Mac or PC Driver counterpart, Upoint positions the cursor at the point-of-aim of the phone, combining the intuitiveness of a laserpointer and the interactivity of a mouse. The Upoint app is designed to communicate with the UpointDriver over BlueTooth or a shared WiFi network. The iPhone app uses Augmented Reality, Motion Sensing, and other proprietary patented technologies to sense the position and orientation of the iPhone relative to the Screen. This allows the app to calculate where on the Screen the phone is pointing, and position the cursor accordingly. As such, it is the world's first interactive laserpointer. The app also features buttons for controlling PowerPoint presentations, i.e., SlideForward, SlideBack, and Blank Screen. Just like the iPhone app, the Drivers for Mac and PC are free and can be downloaded from www.ultimatepointer.com/downloads. For more advanced modes, the iPhone app features in-app purchases (for details, see www.ultimatepointer.com). Since Augmented Reality (AR) forms a key part of Upoint's operation, the app is most suited for more recent iPhone models that have sufficient computing power to afford a credible AR experience. The iPhone 12 Pro with its LiDAR sensor is exceptionally suited for this.

Screenshots

Duet Display3 screens
UltimatePointer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Duet Display at 4.4 against UltimatePointer's 1.0. Duet Display also leads on ratings volume (49K vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Duet Display sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and UltimatePointer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Duet Display holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duet Display has 49K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Duet Display versus UltimatePointer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuet DisplayUltimatePointer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (49K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings49K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.2
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuet, Inc.Erik Banning

Customer experience

Duet Display

All ratings48,585 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews2,382 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral6.7%
Negative47.8%

UltimatePointer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Duet Display

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incompatibility with certain software and drivers
  • Laggy performance and input delays
  • Unreliable connection and frequent disconnects

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved resolution and scaling options
  • Better support for older devices and Windows
  • More customization and control over settings
  • Wireless connectivity without subscription

UltimatePointer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Duet Display

Subscriptions6
  • Duet Starter (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Duet Air (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Duet Pro7 Days trial$7.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Duet Starter (Annual)$39.991 Year
  • Duet Air (Annual)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Duet Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
2 purchases

UltimatePointer

One-time2
  • LinkSlide subscription$0.99
  • VenueCode QR$24.99

Questions

Is Duet Display free?
Duet Display is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UltimatePointer free?
UltimatePointer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Duet Display or UltimatePointer?
Duet Display is rated higher. Duet Display averages 4.4 out of 5 from 49K ratings, while UltimatePointer averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Duet Display or UltimatePointer have ads?
Both Duet Display and UltimatePointer show ads.

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