Control Your PC Using an iPhone or iPad

Wouldn’t it be cool to control your PC remotely from your Apple iPhone or iPad? Thanks to the new iOS-compatible Google Chrome Desktop app, you can. This ingenious app allows you to control your PC from any iPhone or iPad. So the next time your parents need assistance removing adware, you can help them out from the comfort of your Apple device.

To use this nifty tool, you’ll first need to download and install the Chrome Remote Desktop app on each computer you wish to access remotely. Next, download the Chrome Desktop app to your Apple iPhone or iPad. Once installed, open the app and select the computer you wish to connect to. The Chrome Desktop will then create a secure connection to your computer, encrypting all data sent and received. System requirements for the app include iOS 7.0 or newer.

For a complete list of computers set up to use the Chrome Remote Desktop app, simply sign into the app. If a computer is turned off and/or doesn’t have an active Internet connection, it will be grayed out, whereas computers that are online will be highlighted. If you wish to remove a computer from the list, open the app from your iPhone or iPad and choose “edit.”

There are several different ways to remotely control a PC using the Chrome Remote Desktop app, including trackpack mode and touch mode. If you look in the toolbar section of the app, you’ll see an option to switch between between these different modes. It’s also important to note that various gestures work in both trackpack and touch mode. For instance, swiping your iPhone or iPad with two fingers will scroll up or down (depending on the direction being scrolled), and pinching and stretching the screen will zoom in and out respectively. You can swipe up on your iPhone or iPad using three fingers to show the keyboard, while swiping the screen down with three fingers will bring up the toolbar.

Of course, the Chrome Desktop app isn’t technically new, as the Android version has been around for quite some time now. “Chrome Remote Desktop allows users to remotely access another computer through Chrome browser or a Chromebook. Computers can be made available on an short-term basis for scenarios such as ad hoc remote support, or on a more long-term basis for remote access to your applications and files. All connections are fully secured,” wrote the app’s description.

The process of using Chrome Remote Desktop on an Android smartphone or tablet is pretty much the same as an iPad or Phone. You’ll need to first download and install the app on your PC, followed by downloading and installing the app on your Android device (click link mentioned above).