Screens by Edovia has been around for a long time. It's a polished VNC client that connects to just about anything: Macs, Windows PCs, Linux boxes, Raspberry Pis. If you need one app to manage a fleet of different machines from your iPad, Screens handles that well.

Mirage does something narrower. It streams your Mac's display to your iPad, Apple Vision Pro, or another Mac using Twill, a source-available protocol designed for low-latency video. It doesn't connect to Windows or Linux. Instead, it focuses on making the Mac-to-iPad experience as good as possible, with features like full Apple Pencil tablet input, individual window streaming, audio, and 120Hz support.

These are different tools for different jobs. Sometimes they overlap.

The VNC Question

Screens uses VNC (specifically the RFB protocol). VNC is a proven technology that works across platforms, which is exactly why Screens can connect to so many different hosts. But VNC was designed for remote administration, not real-time display streaming. It carries pixel data and basic input events. It doesn't carry audio. It doesn't carry tablet pressure data. It wasn't built for 120Hz.

Mirage's Twill protocol is purpose-built for streaming displays to nearby devices. It handles video, audio, and full tablet input in a single connection. The tradeoff is that it only works between Macs and Apple devices.

Audio

Screens has no audio streaming. This is a VNC limitation, not an oversight by Edovia. If you're working on a document or managing a server, silence is fine. If you want to hear a YouTube video, a notification sound, or a Zoom call running on your Mac, you won't.

Mirage streams audio from your Mac in stereo, 5.1 surround, or lossless quality with Pro. Even the free tier includes mono audio.

Apple Pencil

Screens lists Apple Pencil as a supported input device. However, VNC doesn't carry tablet-specific data like pressure sensitivity, tilt angle, or orientation. The Pencil works as a pointer in Screens, which is useful for navigating and clicking, but drawing apps won't receive the full range of Pencil input.

Mirage forwards the complete tablet data stream: pressure, tilt, azimuth, and orientation. Your iPad becomes a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet for any Mac app that supports tablet input.

What Screens Does Well

Cross-platform host support is Screens' real strength. One app on your iPad can connect to your Mac at home, a Windows machine at the office, a Linux server in a rack, and a Raspberry Pi running in your closet. No other app in this comparison offers that breadth.

Screens Connect, Edovia's free companion utility, makes remote access straightforward. Install it on the host machine and it handles the connection details for you. Screens also supports Tailscale and NordVPN for remote access, and connections are encrypted end-to-end with SSH tunneling.

Both Screens and Mirage have native visionOS apps.

Display Quality and Refresh Rate

Mirage Pro streams at 120Hz on iPad Pro with ProMotion, and supports 10-bit Display P3 color. For design work, photo editing, or video grading, 10-bit color eliminates the gradient banding you see with 8-bit.

Screens doesn't mention 120Hz or 10-bit color support. VNC traditionally operates at whatever frame rate the network and encoder can sustain, which varies.

Window Streaming

Screens mirrors the full desktop. You see the entire screen of the remote machine.

Mirage can stream individual app windows. You can put just Xcode or just Figma on your iPad without the rest of your desktop cluttering the view. With Pro, you can stream up to 8 windows at once. This is useful when you want your iPad to feel like an extension of your workspace rather than a mirror of it.

Headless Macs and Remote Wake

Mirage supports headless Macs with virtual displays, which means you can run a Mac mini without a monitor and still stream its output. It can also wake a sleeping Mac and unlock it from the login screen remotely.

Screens doesn't mention headless Mac support or remote wake capabilities.

Remote Access

Both apps support remote connections beyond your local network. Screens offers Screens Connect (a free, easy-to-set-up utility), plus Tailscale and NordVPN integration. Mirage Pro supports Tailscale and OpenVPN, and also offers Proximity Connect, which streams between your Mac and iPad without needing a shared Wi-Fi network at all.

Encryption

Screens encrypts connections end-to-end using SSH tunneling. Mirage Pro uses AES-256-GCM encryption. Both are solid.

Pricing

Screens uses subscription pricing that covers all your Apple devices. A free trial is available so you can evaluate it before paying.

Mirage's free tier has no time limit. You get 720p at 60Hz, one window, LAN-only connections, and mono audio. That's enough to use daily for basic tasks. Mirage Pro adds full resolution, 120Hz, 10-bit color, encryption, multi-window streaming, audio upgrades, and remote access for $4.99/month, $39/year, or $119 for a lifetime purchase.

Feature Comparison