Developers who want to show off apps, or anyone whose iPhone is currently out of reach, will appreciate a new Continuity feature arriving on the new version of macOS Sequoia. The new OS, announced at WWDC 2024, will allow users to mirror their iPhone screen directly on their Mac and even control it, like swiping through pages on the Home Screen and launching apps via the Mac’s trackpad.
Apple didn’t detail many use cases for the feature, but it seems it would make it easier to demo apps over video calls or in person, as users could move between a slideshow presentation and a live demo of the iPhone app by launching it as if it’s another app on the Mac.
In addition, as Apple showed, it would make it easier to use Mac apps and iPhone apps alongside each other. For example, Apple showed how a video clip edited with Final Cut Pro could be dropped into a template in another app on the iPhone.
When using the feature, users will be able to use the Mac keyboard to enter text and other input into iPhone apps. Plus, iPhone notifications will appear alongside Mac notifications when it’s mirrored, and users will also be able to interact with them and take action. The iPhone’s audio will also come through on the Mac.
For privacy’s sake, the iPhone itself will stay locked so no one else can access the physical device while it’s being mirrored to the Mac.
The feature also works with Standby, so you can see information at a glance when mirroring, Apple noted.
Apple also announced VisionOS 2 for the Vision Pro and it’s bringing the Calculator app to the iPad.