Grimeton — your iPhone as your Mac's screen

Everything travels

Not a remote desktop. Your Mac, in your hand.

Grimeton gives your Mac a screen made for the iPhone, at its native resolution and refresh rate, and makes the iPhone feel like a real Mac.

A real Mac screen

A virtual display sized for your iPhone, streamed in hardware HEVC at up to 120 Hz. Sharp text, no pinching around a shrunken desktop.

Keyboard and trackpad

Plug in any Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. Shortcuts, scrolling with momentum and Mac gestures work the way your Mac is set up.

Touch that makes sense

Tap to click, hold for right-click, drag to select with real handles. The keyboard pops up when you tap a text field.

Sound on your iPhone

Music, videos and notifications from the Mac play on the iPhone's speakers or your AirPods.

Microphone and webcam

When a Mac app needs a mic or camera, Grimeton uses the iPhone's. Join a Meet or Zoom call from the Mac in your bag.

From anywhere

Runs over Tailscale, so it works at home, in the train or across town. Your screen never goes through a server.

Set up in five minutes

How it works

Install Grimeton on the Mac

Download it, drag it to Applications and open it. It lives in the menu bar and walks you through the permissions, the audio devices and the camera.

Connect both to Tailscale

Install Tailscale on the Mac and the iPhone with the same account. Grimeton shows the Mac's address.

Open Grimeton on the iPhone

Enter the address and the six-digit code shown on the Mac. From then on, opening the app connects straight away.

Mac gestures, on glass

Your trackpad settings, everywhere.

Grimeton reads System Settings → Trackpad on your Mac and replays the same gestures from the iPhone's screen.

TapClick · twice to double-click

Two-finger tapRight-click · twice for smart zoom

Pinch & rotateZoom and rotate

DragScroll with momentum

Three fingers sidewaysSwitch Spaces

Three fingers upMission Control

Four-finger pinchApps · spread for Desktop

Three-finger holdGrimeton's menu

On the Mac

macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Tailscale (free)
Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions, asked once
Optional: Stage Manager and Dock switch on automatically while you're connected

On the iPhone

iOS 17 or later. Big screens and foldables shine.
Tailscale (free)
A Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad are recommended. A trackpad needs AssistiveTouch, and the app shows how.
The iPhone app is in beta on TestFlight. Ask us for an invite.

Questions

FAQ

How fast is it?

The Mac encodes with its hardware HEVC encoder in low-latency mode and sends frames over UDP. Only changed frames are sent, so a still screen costs nothing. On a good connection it feels local.

Does my screen go through your servers?

No. The iPhone talks to your Mac directly over your own Tailscale network, which is end-to-end encrypted. Grimeton has no servers in the middle.

Can the Mac stay closed in my bag?

Yes. Turn on “Stay awake with the lid closed” in Grimeton's menu. It also keeps the screen from locking, because a locked Mac can't be unlocked from the iPhone.

Why does the trackpad need AssistiveTouch?

iOS only gives apps a mouse pointer when AssistiveTouch is on. Add it to the Accessibility Shortcut and a triple-click of the side button turns it on and off.

What does Grimeton install on my Mac?

The menu bar app, two virtual audio devices (Grimeton Speakers and Grimeton Microphone, based on the open-source BlackHole driver) and a camera extension (Grimeton Camera). Everything can be removed.

Your iPhone is now your Mac's screen.