How to Control Your IPhone Using a Mac
One of the newest features in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is iPhone Mirroring, which lets you connect your iPhone directly to your Mac, giving you full control over it right from your desktop. Apple debuted the feature at WWDC in June this year, but now it’s finally arriving in the second developer beta of iOS 18. Here’s how to try it.
How to Use iPhone Mirroring in iOS 18
Before you can start using iPhone Mirroring, you’ll need to have at least iOS 18 dev beta 2 installed. Newer versions of the beta will also include the feature, but you’ll need to be running at least beta 2 to experience it for the first time . . Additionally, you will also need a Mac running macOS Sequoia dev beta 2 or later. I recommend installing these beta versions on backup machines whenever possible, as using them can lead to instability and crashes.
When fall arrives and both of these operating systems are fully released, everyone will be able to access them without the need for beta testing.
Follow the instructions here to install the iOS 18 beta . To install the beta version of macOS Sequoia, open System Preferences on your Mac, then choose General > Software Update and click Beta Updates . Select the latest macOS Sequoia developer beta. Be sure to back up your Mac first, as beta versions are known to be buggy, and you may have to come back later if you run into particularly nasty problems.
After installing the beta version, you can finally start using iPhone Mirroring. First, find the appropriately named iPhone Mirroring app in the Launchpad menu on your Mac.
Alternatively, use the search bar at the top to search for it directly. It may also be installed on your Mac when you first update to the latest version of macOS Sequoia.
When you launch iPhone Mirroring for the first time, you will need to go through the initial setup process. This process will tell you what you can do when your iPhone is mirrored on your Mac. To connect your iPhone to your Mac, make sure your iPhone and Mac are close to each other, connected to the same Wi-Fi signal, Bluetooth is turned on, and you’re signed in with the same Apple ID.
You should see a screen asking you to unlock your iPhone to continue. Enter your iPhone’s passcode on the device and then click the “Get Started “ button when the message “iPhone mirroring is ready to use” appears on the screen.
If everything is set up correctly, your iPhone should appear in a small window on your Mac’s display. You’ll also get a pop-up asking if you want to authenticate the connection every time you connect or if you want it to authenticate automatically. For the easiest access, choose the latter, but for added security, add authentication.
That’s all. Now your iPhone is connected to your Mac via iPhone mirroring. You can now interact directly with your iPhone on your Mac display.
What can you do with iPhone Mirroring?
If your iPhone is connected through the iPhone Mirroring app, you will be able to receive notifications from your iPhone directly to your Mac. You’ll also be able to drag and drop files and other content directly from your iPhone directly to your Mac’s desktop and vice versa, although this feature is not currently available at the time of writing.
You can also watch videos from your iPhone directly on your Mac—which may sound silly, but the video and audio quality were actually very impressive when I tested it.
Overall, iPhone Mirroring gives you the ability to control your iPhone without having to physically pick it up, which can be useful for quickly responding to messages and other things while typing on a Mac. It can also be useful for temporarily gaining more precise control over specific applications, such as video editors.
However, there are some limitations. You can’t control your iPhone on Mac if it’s unlocked. You will have to block it and leave it alone to control it. Additionally, you can’t access your iPhone’s camera or microphone when it’s connected to your Mac, and there’s currently no way to resize the iPhone mirroring window. You also can’t enter edit mode on the Home screen, so you won’t be able to customize the look of your screen on your Mac. Additionally, landscape mode only works with certain apps, such as YouTube, which automatically switches to landscape mode when you go full screen.
But considering this is our first real look at iPhone mirroring, how well it works is still impressive. I’ve experienced some sluggishness at times, but this could also be due to the overall connection between my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – these could also just be beta issues that will be resolved in the future.