Astropad launches remote desktop for AI agents

Demand for Apple's Mac Mini has skyrocketed, particularly in China, as this compact computer has become an ideal platform for experimenting with autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw. Now, a company called Astropad is developing a remote desktop solution specifically for this purpose. On Monday, Astropad CEO Matt Ronge introduced Astropad Workbench, a remote desktop solution for Apple devices that he pitches as made 'for the AI era.' While an AI agent running on a Mac Mini may not need a screen, its operator (the human) will want to log in at times to see what’s happening, check logs, monitor outputs, or restart stuck tasks.

The new remote desktop solution offers a variety of features, including high-fidelity streaming, the ability to dictate prompts and commands with your voice, and support for other input methods like the keyboard, Apple Pencil, or touch. It also has clients for both iPad and iPhone, essentially putting the remote desktop solution in your pocket for on-the-go access. If you’re running AI agents across multiple Macs, Workbench offers a device chooser so you can move between them.

The idea came about because it was something the team at Astropad had wanted for themselves, as had their friends. 'We have heavily adopted AI at Astropad, and we’ve been using agents. And sometimes, you have an agent running on a long task, and you want to check on it,' says Ronge. 'There’s not a great way to do this… there were existing remote desktop tools, but nothing built specifically for this.' Workbench also leverages the company’s proprietary, low-latency display protocol, which it calls LIQUID, supporting the workflows creative professionals use. It retains full fidelity, even at Retina resolutions, Astropad claims, and doesn’t blur lines or pixelate data.

While monitoring an AI agent may not always need a high-fidelity solution, Ronge points out that it’s something that’s nice to have, especially if you’re approving designs or mock-ups your AI agent made. Of course, remote desktop software has existed for some time, meaning Astropad has well-established rivals like Jump Desktop, RustDesk, AnyDesk, and many more. But Ronge suggests that those weren’t designed for the specific needs of using remote desktop software to keep tabs on AI agents.

With Workbench, it’s easy to check on the status of logs to see your AI agents’ progress in order to spot issues, restart stalled jobs, and make other changes, all from your iPhone or iPad. 'We’ve been doing iPad stuff for years — it’s been, like, our whole company for the past 10 years. So we have a lot of experience in making good iPad apps,' Ronge says. 'We know how to make good iOS apps… so we did that, and then we also added a voice model.' The tech uses Apple’s voice model so you can talk to your phone and direct your AI agent to do something with a press of the microphone button.

As a new release, there will still be some bugs and polishing needed, but the team is continuing to work on the product. Next up, they plan to launch Windows and Linux support and refine the iPhone app. The new software runs on macOS 15 and up and iOS 26, and is available as a free download offering 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 business, has over 100,000 customers, including those who have bought its iPad hardware accessories and its 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.