PalmDesk Tech Specs

Everything under the hood of PalmDesk 1.0 for iPhone and iPad, and the free PalmDesk for Mac.

Updated September 24, 2026

Compatibility

iPhone: iOS 17 or later
iPad: iPadOS 17 or later, every orientation
Mac: macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel, with the free PalmDesk for Mac

What you can show: Any connected display, the active window, a specific window, or the centre region of the screen
Resolution: The Mac’s native resolution, up to 3840×2400
Frame rate: Up to 30 fps; steps down to 20 or 10 fps on a weak network and back up on its own¹
Bitrate: Adaptive, 5 to 30 Mbit/s
Video: H.264, encoded by the Mac’s hardware video encoder, delivered over WebRTC
Controls: Tap to click, two-finger scroll, pinch to zoom, full screen in landscape

Pointer: Sent at up to 60 Hz; up to 120 Hz on ProMotion displays
Gestures: Move, click, two-finger right-click, two-finger scroll with momentum, press-and-hold drag, three-finger Mission Control and App Exposé, four-finger Space switching
Keyboard: Types into the Mac with shortcuts passed through; Esc, Tab and Return keys; can open automatically when a text field is focused
Quick Commands: Mission Control, App Exposé, Desktop, Spotlight, previous and next Space
Settings: Pointer Speed, Natural Scrolling, Haptic Feedback, Drag Lock

Controls: Play/pause, previous, next, back and forward 10 seconds, volume slider, volume up and down, mute, subtitles, full screen
Mac players: Safari, Chrome, QuickTime Player, Music, Spotify, VLC, IINA
Shortcuts: Up to four of Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, ESPN, Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, Max, DAZN, beIN SPORTS, Spotify, Twitch, discovery+ and Plex

Apps: Keynote and PowerPoint for Mac; PowerPoint on the web, Google Slides, Canva and Prezi in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Arc
Controls: Start, next, previous, exit, black screen, white screen, laser pointer
Presenter view: Slide number and presenter notes for Keynote and PowerPoint for Mac
Timer: Targets from 10 to 60 minutes, with alerts at five minutes left and when time is up

Same Wi‑Fi: Finds the Mac automatically and connects directly across the local network. Free
Any other network: Encrypted internet route with a direct peer-to-peer path when possible and a relay when not, including networks that only allow web traffic. Requires PalmDesk Pro
Instant connect: A nearby Mac can be kept ready in the background; a session survives up to 60 seconds in the background

Encryption: End-to-end encrypted sessions (WebRTC DTLS-SRTP) for video and every control channel, including through the relay
Connection setup: HPKE-sealed, Ed25519-signed envelopes that the server can’t read; TLS 1.2 with a pre-shared key on the local network
Pairing: One-time QR or 9-digit code, valid for 2 minutes, confirmed on both screens
Keys: Stored in the Keychain on each device, never synced or uploaded
On the Mac: Privacy Zones exclude chosen apps; optional pause while password fields and authorization dialogs are visible
Data: No account, no analytics, no ads. Security details · Privacy Policy

Mac: Screen Recording (Live Display), Accessibility (pointer and keyboard), Automation (presenter notes, optional), Local Network
iPhone and iPad: Local Network (same-Wi‑Fi connections), Camera (scanning the pairing code only)

Includes: Access from any network and pairing more than one Mac
Plans: $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year, both with a 7-day free trial (US prices)
Devices: In use on one iPhone or iPad at a time; restore on your other devices with the same Apple Account