Existing apps for handling external monitor controls for mac are either too narrow in focus or are paywalled. Also I found the paywalled ones to be more complicated and feature rich then needed. So I wanted to build something more tailored to the small feature-set I would ever need. Primarily my concern is:
1. Ability to enable/disable external monitors with good UX on this (e.g. showing names of displays) 2. Very simple and easy to use brightness and warmth controls 3. Basic presets 4. Some shortcuts for caffeinate while keeping monitors off (experimental)
I was surprised something like this didn't already exist. I think this use-case is more than enough for most people and doesn't need a paid app if you don't need anything more.
A couple comparisons
- MonitorControl (free): This is what I used previously. It's great for brightness control but that's about it. Very limited in features.
- BetterDisplay (free/$22 Pro): Very feature rich and has a lot of control. Probably the most battle tested one. Personally I didn't think I needed to use most of the features and wanted something more minimal and tailored to the small subset of actions I was looking for.
I can't promise DisplayWave works flawlessly on everything but it's simple enough to install and try out. Let me know what you think or if you run into issues.