Phone mirroring on the Mac might change how you use your phone

I’ve been investigating the caller diagnostic for a bit, and it truly is what it sounds like. You unfastened up the telephone mirroring app, and it presents you to… your iPhone. Rounded corners and everything. You click connected the bottommost barroom to spell location and click and resistance to spell betwixt apps, click with your mouse, and benignant with your keyboard. The lone chrome successful the app appears erstwhile you hover your rodent up astatine the top; there’s a fastener for going location and a fastener for opening the app switcher. You can’t adjacent resize the window, which is presently mode excessively tiny connected my 4K monitor. It’s conscionable your iPhone. On your Mac. 

I cognize what you’re thinking, and yes: this would each beryllium amended if the Mac had a touchscreen oregon if it worked with your iPad. Alas. Even successful our decidedly lesser reality, I’ve been investigating the caller feature, and I’ve discovered a astonishing fig of reasons it’s useful to beryllium capable to usage my iPhone from my laptop. I’ve fired up telephone mirroring to tweak my astute thermostat, which you tin lone bash from the mobile app. I’ve utilized it repeatedly to AirDrop things betwixt my devices, which I tin present bash without switching backmost and distant betwixt them. I tin present respond to texts from my enactment machine without logging successful to iMessage connected my enactment machine and power my euphony and podcasts without perpetually digging my telephone retired of my pocket. I similar the Apple Journal app, and present I benignant successful it a batch much from my laptop than connected my phone.

I deliberation I’ve utilized it astir for managing notifications, though. When you commencement mirroring your phone, you besides commencement mirroring its notifications, truthful everything that buzzes your iPhone besides buzzes your Mac. I ne'er realized however often I drawback my telephone disconnected the table adjacent portion I’m sitting astatine my computer, and mirroring requires overmuch little discourse switching. It has besides made maine acutely alert of conscionable however galore buzzes I get — if you usage telephone mirroring, beryllium prepared to crook disconnected a batch of notifications.

I was capable to get telephone mirroring moving beauteous rapidly utilizing my iPhone 15 Pro moving the iOS 18 beta and my M1-powered Mac Mini moving Sequoia. You person to input your passcodes a mates of times, and it’ll lone enactment if you’re logged successful to the aforesaid Apple relationship connected some devices, but it lone took maine a mates of minutes to get going. (Some of my colleagues person had a harder time, though, and arsenic ever with beta software, you should tread precise carefully.) There is 1 important portion of the setup process to mention, though: you determine aboriginal connected whether you’ll request to participate a password each clip you privation to entree your phone. Unfettered entree to a telephone is simply a large deal, obviously, truthful take wisely.

You tin lone reflector your telephone erstwhile it’s locked — your telephone shows a connection that it’s being mirrored, and arsenic soon arsenic you unlock it, your Mac volition accidental “iPhone Mirroring has ended owed to iPhone use.” If you’re utilizing mirroring connected a MacBook, the swiping and scrolling gestures representation beauteous cleanly to your trackpad. Ditto if you’re connected a desktop and utilizing a Magic Trackpad oregon Magic Mouse. But I usage a Logitech mouse, and that means a batch of worldly is broken. I can’t scroll successful a batch of apps, and I can’t swipe near oregon close anywhere. When I unfastened TikTok, I americium stuck connected the archetypal video successful my provender everlastingly and ever. I anticipation Apple volition enactment much devices oregon let different devices to enactment mirroring, but I wouldn’t stake connected it.

Other than the input issues, astir apps enactment similar you’d expect. Not all, though. Hit “play” connected a Netflix movie and the surface volition rotate to full-screen scenery and amusement you thing but a achromatic screen. Netflix and different streaming apps intelligibly spot your mirrored telephone arsenic an unsanctioned show and conscionable won’t let it. I’ve besides had occupation getting the Phone app to reflector properly, which is unusual — sometimes it’ll work, but different times, it conscionable opens a achromatic screen. That mightiness beryllium beta stuff, but I wouldn’t stake connected the Netflix happening changing anytime soon.

The biggest happening missing from telephone mirroring close present is resistance and driblet betwixt devices, which would instantly beryllium the champion happening astir it. Apple says it’s coming aboriginal this year, and I anticipation it’s casual to drawback photos, files, and everything other from my phone. I’d besides similar to beryllium capable to transcript substance oregon links connected my Mac and paste them onto my iPhone, which doesn’t enactment close now. There are ways notifications could enactment better, too: erstwhile you click an iPhone notification, it’ll ever unfastened the applicable iPhone app, adjacent if you person the corresponding app connected your Mac. 

I had precocious hopes for telephone mirroring arsenic a distant monitoring setup for my iPhone camera, but portion mirroring, you can’t entree the iPhone’s camera oregon microphone astatine all. You besides can’t usage telephone mirroring and Continuity Camera simultaneously, which is simply a shame due to the fact that “I request thing connected my telephone but my telephone is presently my webcam” is simply a happening I brushwood each the clip and is the main crushed I don’t usage Continuity Camera.

Apple’s enactment with Handoff and Continuity has for years felt precise chill but ever somewhat unfinished; this is precise overmuch the same. It works well, but determination are a mates of evident things it can’t rather bash yet.

We’re inactive a fewer months distant from macOS Sequoia and iOS 18 launching for real, truthful there’s clip for Apple to adhd and amended immoderate of the features successful telephone mirroring. Even successful a abbreviated time, it has already go a predominant portion of my regular Mac routine. I’m utilizing my telephone the aforesaid amount, but I’m looking astatine it a batch less. My Mac gets each my notifications now, and whenever I request to bash thing connected my phone, I conscionable occurrence up the telephone mirroring app. It has felt for a portion similar Apple is trying to smush each its operating systems unneurotic to marque each your devices consciousness similar 1 device. Phone mirroring is simply a elemental measurement successful that direction, but it’s a earnestly utile one.