Universal Control Not Coming in macOS Monterey 12.1 and iPadOS 15.2

Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of both iPadOS 15.2 and macOS Monterey 12.1, making it clear that the long awaited Universal Control feature is not coming in the software updates that are expected to launch sometime next week.

There is no mention of ‌Universal Control‌ in the release notes for macOS Monterey 12.1 or iPadOS 15.2, and the feature has not been introduced in any of the betas nor is it present in the release candidate versions. The RCs that we got today represent the final version of the software that's expected at release.

Apple sometimes releases second RC versions to address bugs, but new features are not typically added at this stage.

First announced at WWDC, ‌Universal Control‌ is an iPad and Mac feature that's designed to allow a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard to be used across multiple Mac and ‌iPad‌ devices.

Apple's macOS Monterey page continues to list the ‌Universal Control‌ feature as "available later this fall," but "fall" in the United States ends on December 21, which is when it swaps over to winter.

With macOS Monterey 12.1 and iPadOS 15.2 expected to launch next week ahead of the Christmas holiday, it is looking increasingly unlikely that we're going to see ‌Universal Control‌ before the end of 2021.