Astropad’s Workbench reimagines remote desktop for AI agents, not IT support

Demand for Apple’s Mac Mini has increased shot up, especially in Chinaas the small computer has become an ideal platform for experimenting with autonomous AI agents such as OpenClaw and others. Now a company called Astropad is building a remote desktop solution specifically for this use.

On Tuesday, Astropad CEO Matt Ronge introduced this Astropad workbencha remote desktop solution for Apple devices he has pitches as created “for the AI ​​era.”

While an AI agent running on a Mac Mini may not need a screen, the operator (the human) sometimes wants to log in to see what’s happening to check logs, monitor output, or restart stuck tasks, he says.

The new remote desktop solution offers a variety of features including high-fidelity streaming; the ability to dictate directions and commands with your voice; plus support for other input methods such as the keyboard, Apple Pencil, or touch; and clients for both the iPad and iPhone – the latter essentially putting the remote desktop solution in your pocket for access on the go.

If you use AI agents on multiple Macs, Workbench provides a device selector so you can switch between them.

The idea came about because the Astropad team wanted this for themselves, just like their friends.

“We have used AI a lot at Astropad and we have used agents. And sometimes you have an agent doing a long task and you want to check that,” says Ronge. “There’s no right way to do this… there were remote desktop tools, but nothing built specifically for this,” he continues. “There have also been ways you can use a terminal, or there are things like Telegram chats, but those are limited. I mean, sometimes you need to see what’s happening on your Mac. You need to approve a dialogue, or save something, or just visually see what’s happening.”

Workbench also uses its proprietary low-latency rendering protocol, which it calls LIQUID, and supports the workflows that creative professionals use. It maintains full fidelity even at Retina resolutions, Astropad claims, and doesn’t blur lines or pixelated data. The protocol already supports other Astropad products, such as Luna displaywhich turns your iPad into a second screen, and Astropad Studiowith which you can use an iPad as a professional drawing tablet.

While monitoring an AI agent may not always require a high-fidelity solution, Ronge points out that it’s something nice to have, especially if you’re approving designs or mock-ups that your AI agent has created.

Of course, remote desktop software has been around for a while, meaning Astropad has established rivals like Jump Desktop, RustDesk, AnyDesk, Parsec, VNC-based solutions and many more.

But Ronge suggests these aren’t designed for the specific needs of using remote desktop software to monitor AI agents. With Workbench you can easily check the status of logs to see the progress of your AI agents, track issues, restart stuck tasks and make other changes, but what’s more, you can do this from your iPhone or iPad.

“We’ve been doing something with iPads for years. That’s been our entire business for the past ten years. So we have a lot of experience in making good iPad apps,” says Ronge. “We know how to make good iOS apps… so we did that, and then we also added a voice model.”

The technology uses Apple’s voice model, so you can talk to your phone and command your AI agent to do something with the press of a microphone button.

“It’s a very natural way to work with agents. That’s the kind of feature that the existing remote desktop provides [apps] they just don’t have them: they’re built for a more traditional, enterprise-style remote desktop.”

With a new release there will still be some bugs and improvements needed, but the team will continue to work on the product. Next, they plan to launch Windows and Linux support and refine the iPhone app.

The new software runs on macOS 15 and higher and iOS 26, and is available as a free download offers 20 minutes of access per day. For unlimited access, the cost is $10 per month, or $50 per year.

Astropad, a bootstrapped and profitable small tech company, has more than 100,000 customers, including those who purchased iPad hardware accessories and software. With Workbench, Ronge believes the company has the potential to reach both AI enthusiasts and businesses as remote support for AI agents becomes more common.

“I absolutely think companies will buy it. I mean, just the productivity gains that I see from it myself, this goes entirely to companies. It’s just too powerful,” he notes.