Discover what the internet is saying about Luna Display.

Luna Display Review

Yay or nay?

Upgraded Reviews scanned the web to find out what real users are saying about Luna Display.

See the highlights below and decide for yourself!

Pros and Cons

Table of contents

✅ Pros

There’s a USB-C version for newer Macs, and a Mini DisplayPort version for older models.
Review Pros
It’s a fantastic addition for people who already travel with a MacBook and iPad.
You can connect the iPad and the Mac together via Lightning or USB-C if a Wi-Fi network isn’t available, but this is completely optional.
Having Astropad Studio on both devices gives us further options during initial setup.
If you ever find yourself without a local Wifi, you even can use your lightning cable and in case of the new iPad Pro a USB-C cable.
After downloading the iPad app, the detection, connection and handshaking process was quite painless, with only a few screen flickers and after a few seconds I had an image of my desktop on the iPad.
It offers a simple setup.
With the help of Luna Display you even get touch support in Mac OS.
You can also combine it with Sidecar on a Mac, and with the right Apple Hardware you should be able to get 3 additional screens running, 2 using Sidecar and one with the Luna Display.
With the recent inclusion of Windows the in the compatibility list it’s also possible to use it to your graphics card or IGPU with the HDMI version.
The Luna website is very informative, there is a lot of information to digest here if one would like to know the technology that lies behind the dongle’s fluent performance.
It is a really small dongle, smaller than most thumb drives, therefore it is easy to forget about when connected to the Mac.
You get 16ms response time compared to AirPlay which comes with 64ms.
Luna Display is compatible with practically all desktop apps that you want to run.
It is optimized for touchscreen gestures.
You can operate either SD or Retina Desktop Resolution on your iPad through an existing Wifi connection.
The Luna Display app on your desktop works without an internet connection, which makes it your go-to point for initiating a wired connection.
With “office mode” enabled Luna Display will no longer automatically connect to the first computer it sees on the network (key if you work in an office with multiple Luna Display users).
It works with third-party iPad keyboards.
The displayed content also benefits from the Hardware Acceleration of your Macbook.
It connects over WiFi but can also connect via USB if your work environment doesn’t support WiFi.
What really opens up the possibilities for digital epigraphers compared to the regular Astropad experience is the capability to rearrange and reassign our screens to our will, and this can go way beyond just mirroring our computer screen when creating our workflow.
Using the drag and drop method, Luna Display will also allow you to move apps and programs from your computer into the iPad.
Luna acts as a complete extension to your Mac, with full support for external keyboards, Apple Pencil, and touch interactions. It literally turns your Mac into a touchable device.
With the appropriate software installed in each device, Luna Display will automatically turn your secondary device or iPad into a second screen.
It runs on the proprietary LIQUID Technology—which guarantees crystal clear image quality, reliable performance, and wireless flexibility.
The real benefit for me was using it as a third display for the output of a 3D rendered node in the Fusion page, and it’s also possible to use it as a way of altering the curves or colour warper tools in the Color page as you can pop out those tools on to a second monitor.
Luna Display was originally exclusive for Mac devices, but they have recently released a version for Windows 10.
It’s available in several versions – with USB-C or Mini DisplayPort.
It enables your iPad to nearly double the space you have to work with by functioning as a second display for your macOS laptop.
No wires are needed.

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❌ Cons

There is no Windows version of the software. It’s Mac only.
It is pricey.
It’s not going to replace an external monitor for daily office use.
Overcrowded WiFi with high bit-rate files meant that it dropped frames, and sometimes resolution.
A macOS and an iOS application have to be installed.
It is significantly pricier than rivals like Duet Display.
There is noticeable lag.
The package can cost anywhere between USD 110 to 130. Admittedly, this price range is rather steep for a dongle and nothing else.

⚖️ Final Say

Read the summaries of what reviewers think about Luna Display below.

Review Summaries
Luna Display is the latest product of Astro HQ and has such a low profile that you can take it with you all the time. It’s so small that I carry it around in its original packaging since I’m afraid to lose it. The Luna Display basically is a combination of a dongle and an app.
We can’t praise Astro HQ enough for investing so much energy into creating a better workflow for our work. While Astropad Studio is pushing the boundaries of using an iPad as a full-fledged Wacom replacement, Luna Display creates a flawless second-screen experience to go with it.
The Luna Display is perfectly usable as a way of utilising that spare screen you may have lying around, especially if you’re not planning to stream high bit-rate video to it. Ideally I’d like to see the development of this product line which caters a little more towards this end of the market, without the usually associated price hike.
Luna Display is hugely convenient when using a Mac on the go. But it’s not going to replace an external monitor for daily office use. Still, it’s a fantastic addition for people who already travel with a MacBook and iPad.
Despite the outward simplicity of the technology, it proves to be a highly innovative, practical, and timely solution to a problem that most people have, and that is limited screen space. It’s one of the few technologies to make it possible to access a desktop from more than one device.
This may seem like a silly thing to be excited about, but this feature really opens up a lot of options for me that I just didn’t have before.
With such an easy setup and useful wireless connection, Luna Display is certainly a great addition to your computing experience, especially if you work on a Mac laptop and want more screen real-estate (a 13-inch MacBook Pro combined with an iPad Pro is a perfect pairing).

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