WWDC 2021 'Universal Control' workstation lives on [Setups] | Cult of Mac

WWDC 2021 ‘Universal Control’ workstation lives on [Setups]

By

The resemblance is uncanny.
The resemblance is uncanny.
Photo: kinky_unicorn@Reddit.com

Remember those heady days of WWDC 2021, when Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi performed a magical drag-and-drop demo of Universal Control that made the near-future world of macOS Monterey seem especially cool? Oh, yeah. It was just last month.

Anyway, Redditor kinky_unicorn certainly remembers it. They recreated Federighi’s workstation from the video, took a photo of it and posted it on Reddit, after all.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

If the photo above doesn’t jog your memory — because surely you watched WWDC 2021 keynote vids in their entirety — you can watch the demo below.

And of course you can read Cult of Mac coverage of the whole affair. And then some.

Kinky_unicorn’s setup includes an M1 iMac, an apparently not-at-all-new MacBook Pro, an iPad with a keyboard and a Magic Trackpad 2.

And, of course, the setup would not be complete without something special with which to take the photo. In this case, it was a Sony A7R IV camera with a 35mm F1.4 GM lens.

But the irony is crushing

And the tragic irony of it all? kinky_unicorn’s MacBook Pro, the one in the photo, won’t be able to handle Universal Control. It’s too old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PcKvaW5jzw

 

“My MBP is too old for Universal Control and it makes me sad,” they said. “It’s too old even for Sidecar although I use another app for that purpose.”

That suggests kinky_unicorn’s MBP dates to at least early 2016. Other Redditors were pulling for kinky_unicorn, though.

“Ahh that’s a shame,” said one. “There’ll be a time in the future when you can upgrade. I made the risky decision of upgrading recently to the m1 iPad and MacBook, largely in the hopes that universal control will work well.”

Shop these items now:

If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches or challenges.

Cult of Mac's Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.