Astropad has released Workbench 1.3, with streaming 30% faster than the previous version and a suite of security and reliability features aimed at users running remote Mac setups and local AI agents. The update marks the largest revision to the remote desktop app since its April 2026 debut.
Video streaming rebuilt for Apple silicon
The core performance gain comes from rebuilding Workbench’s video streaming system to run natively on Apple silicon. Streaming is 30% faster on both iPhone and iPad clients, with content-aware encoding now adjusting how text and images are processed to improve text clarity and refresh rates. This responsiveness matters for anyone controlling a Mac from a tablet during creative work or system monitoring.
Privacy curtain and Watchdog for unattended access
A new privacy curtain feature conceals the Mac’s physical display during a remote session. Users choose from three style options and can dim the display while blocking local keyboard or mouse input, addressing security concerns for headless Mac mini setups running in shared spaces. Accompanying that is Watchdog, a background monitor that relaunches Workbench following a crash, disconnection, or failure to respond. For persistent remote workflows where the app needs to stay available without manual intervention, Watchdog closes the downtime gap.
iPad-first controls and picture-in-picture
Picture-in-picture support lets you keep the remote Mac visible while switching between apps on iPad, useful for reference work or monitoring a headless system alongside other tasks. IPad users also gain shortcut mapping, which redirects commands normally handled by iPadOS to the connected Mac, giving the Mac first priority for keyboard input in remote sessions.
71 bug fixes and cumulative improvements
The update includes fixes covering keyboard input, clipboard syncing, sign-ins, and other system interactions. Earlier releases had already added external mouse support, smoother zooming, smarter sleep handling, Japanese Kana keyboard support, and improved encryption. The cumulative effect is a tool that has moved well past first-generation roughness in just four months.
Pricing and system requirements
- Cost: $10 per month or $50 per year for unlimited access
- Free tier: 20 minutes of daily access for new users
- Mac requirement: macOS 15 or later
- iPhone requirement: iOS 26 or later
- iPad requirement: iPadOS 26 or later
Astropad built Workbench using the same proprietary Liquid engine that powers its Luna Display and Astropad Studio products. The app has found a particular niche with users monitoring AI agents and managing unattended Mac mini servers, and version 1.3 doubles down on that use case with privacy and reliability as first-class concerns rather than afterthoughts.
