How to Use the New iOS 18 iPhone Mirroring Feature on Mac
Sep. 14, 2024Thelatest iOS 18and macOS Sequoia brings a damn interesting and super-useful iPhone Mirroring feature. It’s a brand-new addition that lets you use your iPhone from your Mac’s display, check out iPhone notifications, use iPhone apps, and do a lot more. Unarguably, it’s one of thebest macOS Sequoia featuresthat can make your life easier. In this article, we’ll show you how to get your iPhone screen to appear on your Mac. Without any ado, let’s get started with the iPhone Mirroring feature.
Prerequisites to use iPhone Mirroring Feature
Once you’re ready with the requirements, let’s move to the next sections and learn how to use iPhone Mirroring on macOS Sequoia.
With the iPhone Mirroringfeature in macOS Sequoia, you can fully access your iPhone right on your MacBook’s display, without needing your iPhone to be around. Follow the below steps to use your iPhone on your Mac wirelessly:
Once you’ve your iPhone’s content on your Mac’s display, you can click to interact with it, just like you’ll tap your finger on your iPhone. You canuse your Mac’s trackpador mouse to interact with your iPhone and its apps wirelessly. Simply swipe left/right on your Mac’s trackpad to move around your iPhone’s Home Screen. Also, there are dedicated buttons to switch to Home Screen and App Switcher on your iPhone.
To access your iPhone’s Home Screen,click on the mirrored display, hover theMac pointerupwards, and click on the “apps” icon. You can also use the“Command + 1”keyboard shortcut.To access the App Switcher on your iPhone,click on the “app switcher” icon from the same top-right corner. You can also use the“Command + 2”keyboard shortcut.
Touse Spotlight search on your iPhone, you can click on the Search button at the bottom of the Home Screen or swipe down using your Mac’s keyboard. Alternatively, you can press “Command + 3” on your Mac’s keyboard.
It’s worth knowing that iPhone Mirroring doesn’t offer access to the Notification Center, Control Center, or Siri via iPhone.
You canuse your Mac’s keyboardto type emails, messages, and other documents on your iPhone. Also, you can keep up with your iPhone notifications right on your Mac.
With iPhone Mirroring, you can receive your iPhone notifications on your Mac. They will appear in the Notifications Center with your Mac notifications, but you’ll see a tiny phone icon indicating it’s an iPhone notification. When you click on a notification on your Mac, it will open up right into the app on your iPhone. You can easily take action and interact with the notifications.
You can also watch videos with iPhone Mirroring. Bear in mind that you can’t force your iPhone to switch to a landscape orientation. That said, when you open a video app (or other app) that requires landscape viewing, your iPhone Mirroring session will automatically turn into landscape mode. Therefore, I can easily watch YouTube videos in full-screen mode with iPhone Mirroring.
The latest iOS 18.1 Developer Beta 5 updated iPhone Mirroring to allow the much-awaited drag-and-drop feature. With this, you to move your photos, videos, and files between your iPhone and Mac as long as iPhone Mirroring is active. This works even if your iPhone is locked and charging. To transfer files, your iPhone and Mac should be running the latest 5th developer beta of iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia, respectively.
Here’s how to drag and drop files between iPhone and Mac:
This functionality isn’t available in the stable macOS Sequoia version. Apple plans to roll out the drag-and-drop feature for public use later this year.
To stop mirroring your iPhone to your Mac, click oniPhone Mirroringfrom the top Menu bar and then click onQuit iPhone Mirroring.
When you unlock your iPhone, iPhone Mirroring stops automatically. Your Mac will display that the iPhone is in use and will advise you to lock your iPhone and click onTry Againto continue mirroring the iPhone display.
Once your iPhone is locked, click onTry Againand it will mirror your iPhone on your Mac again.
If you want, you can use another iPhone signed in with the same Apple ID. On your Mac, openSystem Settings -> Desktop & Dockand scroll down to theWidgets section.You’ll see a drop-down box for iPhone. You can use it to configure the iPhone you wish to use with iPhone Mirroring.
You can also use another Mac to broadcast your iPhone’s content using iPhone Mirroring. On your iPhone, go toSettings -> General -> AirPlay & Continuity -> iPhone Mirroringand choose a Mac running macOS Sequoia.
Sometimes, your family or friends might want to use your Mac. To safeguard your privacy and make sure no one else can mirror your iPhone on your Mac, you can delete your Mac from the list of devices that are allowed to mirror your iPhone. Here’s how to do it:
That’s how you can use iPhone Mirroring in macOS Sequoia. The iPhone Mirroring feature works seamlessly in the stable version of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. The initial connection is fast and you can maintain a session for as long as you want.
Have you tried iPhone Mirroring on your Mac? Did you like this feature? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
