Extending iOS screen to an external display

I understand two key concepts from desktop platforms:

Screen Mirroring – The same content is displayed on both the primary and external screens.

Screen Extension – The external display shows different content that complements what's on the main screen.

My question pertains to the second point: Is it possible to extend the display on iOS and iPadOS devices?

I'm referring to this Apple documentation, which explains how to extend content from an iOS/iPadOS device to an external display.

I tested this in a sample iOS Xcode project. In the iOS Simulator, I was able to detect an "external display" and present a separate UIWindow on it. However, when I tried the same on a real device (iPhone 15 connected to a MacBook Pro via cable), the external display connection was not detected.

I’d like to confirm whether screen extension is possible on a real iOS device. From my research, it appears that extension is only supported on iPadOS via Stage Manager, but I want to verify if there’s any way to achieve this on an iPhone. If so, are there any known apps that currently utilize extended display functionality on iOS?

If extension is not possible on iOS, what does the documentation mentions iOS?

Is it possible to extend the display on iOS and iPadOS devices?

Yes, but it depends on what you mean by this.

Under certain circumstances, apps on iPhones and iPads are both offered windowExternalDisplayNonInteractive role scenes when AirPlaying to an external monitor or connected to an appropriate external monitor through an appropriate dongle or cable.

If you wish to kick the system out of mirroring, create a UIWindow, attach it to the windowExternalDisplayNonInteractive role scene, and then unhide it. That will show your content. However, as mentioned, that scene does not support user interaction of any type.

On supported iPad models you can have interactive windowApplication role scenes on the external display:

https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/connect-to-a-display-with-a-cable-ipadf1276cde/ipados

These are just like the windowApplication role scenes that happen to be on the embedded display of the iPad.

However, when I tried the same on a real device (iPhone 15 connected to a MacBook Pro via cable), the external display connection was not detected.

Connecting an iPhone to a MacBook Pro is not a valid connection for screen mirroring. You need to connect the iPhone or the iPad to a standalone computer display or a TV (then of course select the correct input).

Extending iOS screen to an external display
 
 
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