Over the years, users have looking for ways of integrating their desktop and phone instead of working on two separate screens. The good news is that Apple heard their concerns, and they no longer have to switch from iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch to check notifications. Today, users can simply concentrate on their larger screen and put their phones away, thanks to Continuity features.
The article will tell you how you can have one seamless experience. Continue reading to learn about incredible things on your Mac and iPhone.
How to Make Your Mac and iPhone Work Seamlessly
Universal Clipboard Feature
You may at one time have wanted to transfer a text or image from your computer to an app on your iPhone. That was not possible for many years, but today you can move information thanks to the Universal Clipboard feature designed to address that challenge.
The tech giant designed and built the feature into the macOS and iOS to make copying and pasting clipboards easy for all compatible devices. Therefore, when you copy something on Mac, it’s actually copied in iPhone and has a temporary ability to paste it as long as you’re signed to iCloud with a similar Apple ID and have enabled Handoff feature on your devices.
Handoff
Other than copying and pasting items from Mac to iPhone or vice versa, enabling Handoff helps you close one device and continue working on the other. Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Mail, Pages, Keynotes, Reminders, and Safari are some apps that support Handoff. There are also multiple third-party apps that work with Handoff that you can install and continue working on them using one Apple device when you abandon the other.
If the app you’re using is on iPhone and you now want to continue working where you had left on Mac, you can look for the app’s Handoff icon on the computer’s Dock and proceed. It is represented by a regular app icon with a grey circle and a tiny phone moving on the upper right. You will continue working on where you left on your iPhone when you click on the icon. For instance, you can start composing an email on your Mac and finish up your email.
However, you can’t transfer your work from iPhone to Mac or vice versa using the Handoff icon. Additionally, you can move your work using iTunes File Sharing, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or File Explorer across the devices.
Play Music across Devices
It’s possible to play music across devices by either syncing your music library across them, playing using the Lightning USB cable, or third-party apps such as Spotify because it supports the Handoff feature on Apple.
Alternatively, you can stream music, movies, and TV shows across all devices from the Apple TV app. You can do that by simply logging in to all devices. In fact, you can purchase movies and share them with your family.
Close Tabs on Different Devices
iCloud allows you to access one apple device from another. For instance, if you enable it and sync Safari on your Mac and other devices, you can close the tab on the iPhone because it appears in the Safari tab switcher on your computer. You can see that by scrolling down.
You can also reveal the tab switcher on your computer by clicking View and Show Tab Overview or Shift + Cmd + Backslash.
Hit the Close button that appears when you move around to close the iCloud tabs. You can also use the Show iCloud Tabs to quickly access the iCloud button.
The Mac’s Safari icon appears below the active tabs in the tab switcher if you are accessing them from the iPhone. You can hit the Tabs toolbar button to reveal the tab switcher. This is available at the bottom right. Next, display the Close button by sliding the tab name to your left.
Unlock Your Device
You can unlock your computer using a third-party app on your iPhone. One of these apps is Unlox which enables you to use your Touch ID fingerprint or iPhone’s passcode to unlock your Mac.
Alternatively, you can unlock your Mac using your Apple Watch by sitting in front of it as long as you have enabled the Auto Unlock feature.
Share Internet Connection
It’s possible to share an internet connection in iPhone or Mac with another device. You can do this by making your internet connection in Mac into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Go to System Preferences, click on Sharing and check the internet Sharing box. Hit the Start button when you receive the confirmation prompt.
Alternatively, you can tether or use your iPhone internet connection by enabling the Personal Hotspot option. Go to your iPhone Settings and click on Cellular. Your iPhone will be listed among the networks on your Mac. Click on your mobile device to connect to its internet and begin browsing your computer using your iPhone’s internet.
Share Files and Webpages
There are times when you want to share files between your computer and phone. The good news is that Apple has an in-built file transfer utility known as Airdrop. You can share files between iPhone and Mac by enabling Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the two devices and ensuring that they have been discovered.
Next, hold the Control button and select the file to start sharing files from Mac to your iPhone. Click on Share, select the AirDrop option and choose your iPhone from the AirDrop dialogue. Alternatively, you can select other file transfer options and tap the Share button. AirDrop allows you to share files, folders, notes, photos, contacts, and web pages.
Send and Receive SMS
Enabling the Text Message Forwarding on your iPhone allows you to send text messages on your Mac. Further, tap the iMessage to keep you reachable through the email address and phone number.
- Go to Messages, Preferences and enable the Accounts to activate on MacOS
- Go to Settings, Messages and hit Send and Receive to activate on iOS
You can select a contact to send a message, start an iMessage conversation and send SMS from your computer as long as the text forwarding is enabled.
Receive and Make Calls on Mac
Connecting Mac and iPhone enables you to make and receive both FaceTime and cellular calls on your computer. However, you must connect the two devices to the same network and sign in to your FaceTime account and iCloud.
Other settings that should be enabled before receiving or making calls are:
- For iOS, click on Allow Calls on Other Devices
- For macOS, enable Calls from iPhone
You will receive a notification on your computer when you get a call on your phone. You can use the message to accept or decline the call.
You can make a call from your computer by tapping on the link to the phone number from any app or Control-click on the contact. Next, hit the Call button and tap the number to start the call when you get a popup saying Call using iPhone.
Scan Documents
You can request your iPhone to add sketches on Numbers, Keynote and Pages, or make markup annotations on PDFs or images. Additionally, you can request your phone to take images or scan documents which you can add to supported apps like Messages, Keynote and Mail.
This is a vital feature, especially when preparing documents or urgent reports.
Takeaway
Both Mac and iPhone can work efficiently when you enable features such as the Universal Clipboard, Handoff, AirDrop, hotspot or tethering, sync your music library, log in to iCloud, and much more.
You can also use native Apple features or download third-party apps to make your phone and computer work seamlessly. This will enable you to continue working on one device when the other one is out of reach or avoid operating more than one gadget, which is time-consuming and confusing.
