If you want to mirror your Mac to an Android tablet or phone, Duet Display is the name that comes up first. It works, it supports USB and WiFi, and it handles both Mac and Windows. But it's a subscription — $4-6/month — and depending on what you actually need, there are alternatives that might fit better.
Here are five options, including Duet itself, compared honestly. I built one of them (SuperMirror), so I'll be upfront about that and fair about the rest.
The quick comparison
| App | Price | Connection | Latency | E-ink Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperMirror | $29 one-time | USB | <10ms | Yes (optimized) |
| Duet Display | $4-6/mo | USB + WiFi | Low-medium | No |
| Deskreen | Free | WiFi | Medium-high | No |
| VNC (various) | Free | WiFi | High | No |
| AirDroid Cast | Free tier | WiFi | Medium-high | No |
Now let's break each one down.
1. SuperMirror — USB, one-time price, e-ink optimized
SuperMirror mirrors a Mac display to any Android device over USB. It sends your screen losslessly over USB instead of encoding video, which keeps latency under 10ms and avoids the artifacts you get from video codecs on e-ink screens.
It was originally built for the Daylight DC-1 — a paper-like display where video encoding produces terrible results. But it works with any Android device: Samsung tablets, Pixels, Boox e-readers, anything with USB debugging enabled.
What it does well
- Lowest latency of any option here (under 10ms over USB)
- Zero GPU usage — minimal CPU usage, runs entirely on CPU
- Greyscale optimization for e-ink and paper-like displays
- One-time $29 with a 7-day free trial
Where it falls short
- USB only — no WiFi option
- Mac only (no Windows support)
- Mirrors displays, doesn't extend them (though you can pair it with macOS virtual displays)
If you're using an e-ink device or want the absolute lowest latency, SuperMirror is purpose-built for that. If you need WiFi or Windows, keep reading.
2. Duet Display — the incumbent
Duet Display is the most established Mac-to-Android mirroring app. It supports USB and WiFi, works on Mac and Windows, and can extend your display (not just mirror it). It's been around since 2015 and has the widest platform coverage.
What it does well
- Both USB and WiFi connections
- Display extension, not just mirroring
- Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android)
- Touch input from the tablet
Where it falls short
- Subscription pricing: $4-6/month ($48-60/year)
- No e-ink optimization — uses standard video encoding
- Some users report occasional connectivity issues after macOS updates
Duet is a solid all-rounder. If you need cross-platform support and display extension, it's the most capable option. The subscription cost adds up over time — after 6-7 months you've paid more than SuperMirror's one-time price — but you get broader feature coverage.
3. Deskreen — free, open-source, WiFi
Deskreen turns any device with a web browser into a second screen over WiFi. It's completely free, open-source, and doesn't require installing anything on the receiving device. You open a URL in a browser, scan a QR code, and your Mac screen appears.
What it does well
- Completely free and open-source
- No app needed on the receiving device — just a browser
- Can share a specific window instead of the whole screen
- Works with literally any device that has a browser
Where it falls short
- WiFi only — latency depends entirely on your network
- Browser rendering adds overhead on top of network latency
- No e-ink optimization
- Quality can degrade on congested networks
Deskreen is the best free option if you just need basic screen sharing and don't care about latency. For writing or reading, the delay is acceptable. For anything where you're actively moving a cursor or scrolling, you'll feel it.
4. VNC clients — free, universal, slow
VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is the oldest remote display protocol. Free VNC servers are built into macOS (System Settings > General > Sharing > Screen Sharing), and free VNC viewers are available for Android — RealVNC Viewer, bVNC, TightVNC.
What it does well
- Built into macOS — no server app to install
- Free viewers available on every platform
- Well-understood protocol with decades of development
Where it falls short
- WiFi only — no USB option
- Uses video encoding, which adds latency (typically 50-100ms+)
- Noticeable compression artifacts, especially on text
- No e-ink optimization
- Higher CPU usage due to video encoding
VNC is fine for occasionally checking on a remote machine. As a daily-driver second display, the latency and compression artifacts make it hard to recommend. Text looks fuzzy, scrolling lags, and the cursor trails behind your hand.
5. AirDroid Cast — free tier, WiFi, easy setup
AirDroid Cast is primarily designed for casting a phone screen to a computer, but it supports the reverse direction too — Mac screen to Android. It has a free tier with basic functionality and a paid tier for higher quality.
What it does well
- Free tier available
- Simple setup — no USB debugging required
- Works over WiFi and remote networks
Where it falls short
- Free tier has limitations on resolution and session length
- WiFi only
- Higher latency than USB-based options
- No e-ink optimization
- Primarily designed for phone-to-PC, not Mac-to-Android
AirDroid Cast is worth trying if you want something quick and free. Just know that the Mac-to-Android direction isn't its primary use case, and the free tier has constraints.
What about scrcpy?
You might see scrcpy mentioned in searches. It's a great tool, but it goes the other direction — it mirrors your Android screen to your computer. It doesn't mirror a Mac display to an Android device. If that's what you need, scrcpy is excellent and free. But it doesn't solve the problem this post is about.
So which one should you pick?
It depends on what matters most to you:
- Lowest latency + e-ink: SuperMirror. USB-only, Mac-only, but under 10ms with zero GPU usage. Built specifically for paper-like displays.
- Most features: Duet Display. USB + WiFi, Mac + Windows, display extension. Subscription pricing.
- Free and simple: Deskreen. WiFi-only, browser-based, open-source. Good enough for casual use.
- Free and universal: VNC. Built into macOS, viewers on every platform. High latency.
- Quick and easy: AirDroid Cast. Free tier, no USB debugging needed. WiFi-only, limited free tier.
If you're reading this because you're tired of paying a monthly subscription for Duet Display, the two real alternatives are SuperMirror ($29 once, if you want USB speed and low latency) and Deskreen (free, if WiFi latency doesn't bother you).
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Deskreen is completely free and open-source — it mirrors your Mac screen to any device with a web browser over WiFi. VNC clients like RealVNC Viewer are also free. The tradeoff is latency: WiFi-based tools add 30-100ms of delay compared to USB, and browser-based rendering adds more on top of that.
SuperMirror has the lowest measured latency at under 10ms over USB, using lossless USB mirroring instead of video encoding. Duet Display over USB is next. WiFi-based tools like Deskreen and VNC typically add 30-100ms depending on network conditions.
SuperMirror works over USB. This is how it achieves sub-10ms latency. Duet Display also supports USB connections. Most other alternatives — Deskreen, VNC, AirDroid Cast — are WiFi-only.
Most of these tools mirror your existing display rather than extending it. Duet Display supports display extension. SuperMirror mirrors a selected display — but combined with macOS virtual displays, you can effectively use it as an extended screen. Deskreen can share a specific application window or your entire screen.
Yes, Duet Display supports Android devices. It works over both USB and WiFi. However, it requires a subscription ($4-6/month or $48-60/year), while some alternatives offer one-time pricing or are completely free.
SuperMirror measures under 10ms latency over USB. It uses lossless mirroring with no video compression, which eliminates the encode/decode overhead that adds latency in VNC and browser-based tools. USB also removes WiFi variability from the equation.