8 Practical Apps for iPhone Mirroring in iOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia

Is Apple’s new? iPhone mirroring function actually makes sense in the latest versions of iOS and MacOS? No matter where your iPhone is nearby – in another room where it’s charging or buried at the bottom of a bag – you can see and control it from your Mac.

Aside from the sheer convenience of not having to pick up the phone, I’ve found several reasons to use iPhone mirroring. In fact, I find myself using it regularly on my iPhone 16 since the release of iOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia. (And if you run this latest betaslets you experiment with one of the most interesting mirroring features, the ability to drag and drop items directly onto the phone and vice versa.)

Read more: How to control your iPhone from your Mac using iPhone mirroring

iOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia are available now and bring a variety of other features, such as: animated text messages and the ability to do so Customize your iPhone’s home screen.

When your iPhone is in a pocket, purse or other room

The simplest use case is when you want to access something on your phone but it’s buried in a bag, just out of reach, or you can’t get up (or you can, but the snoozing cat or dog on your lap would don’t do that). I don’t appreciate the disruption). The connection via iPhone mirroring is much more convenient.

However, this feature doesn’t work over long distances, such as if you accidentally left your iPhone at home and need to access it from work. iPhone mirroring uses Apple’s Continuity technology, which means the iPhone and Mac must be within Bluetooth range of each other.

If you need to check in via an iPhone app

Missed your daily Duolingo check-in and your phone isn’t at hand? If this is the case with your Mac, iPhone Mirroring can connect and ensure you keep your streak going.

Or maybe you need to complete today’s Wordle challenge, but while you’re working it would be too obvious that you’re looking at your phone. The discreet iPhone Mirroring window can be easily covered or hidden if necessary.

If you want to use an app, not a web interface

Even today, some popular services still work much better in apps than in web interfaces. Yes, we’re looking at you, Instagram. Posting through an app often includes more options or a better user experience. Because iPhone mirroring gives you almost complete access to the iPhone interface, you can post with a mouse cursor instead of a finger.

If you want to quickly transfer items between devices (coming soon)

I take a lot of screenshots for work and personally take even more photos, all of which end up in my photo library. These images are then synced to my Mac via iCloud – but sometimes it seems to be at a pace aptly described as “when the phone gets around to it.” If I need something on my Mac immediately, I use AirDrop between devices, which It works, but it’s more complicated than I’d like.

Later this year, however, we’ll be able to drag and drop all types of files – not just images – between an iPhone and the Mac running the iPhone Mirroring app. This also works both ways: Drop a video or important PDF file from a Mac Finder window onto the mirrored iPhone to transfer it to the phone. (You can play with it now Beta versions for iOS 18.1 and MacOS Sequoia.)

If you don’t want to clutter up your Mac with software junk

MacOS has a long history of supporting system extensions, startup items, and various background processes that you probably don’t realize are running most of the time. For example, some large application suites distribute these accessory files like a dropped Lego box. In many cases, resource consumption is negligible, but these parts still consume memory and processor power.

In contrast, iOS has always been built as a siled system, with each app having its own protected storage and tightly controlled routes for interacting with other apps. Especially for apps that you don’t use often but need to keep, you may want to install a mobile version to avoid the app creep that occurs on macOS.

iPhone Mirroring offers you the opportunity to continue using such an app on your Mac without infecting MacOS with all the associated junk that is normally installed.

If you want to log in to your bank’s app instead of doing so on the computer

Unfortunately, some of these suggestions focus on the theme of “an app is better than a website,” and there is often no better example than banking websites.

It can be easier and more secure to access your bank accounts or investments by using iPhone Mirroring to sign in with the iOS app instead of a web browser on your Mac. You’ll still need to authenticate the iPhone app when you open it (since you can’t use Face ID or Touch ID on the device), but that might be a more convenient option.

If you want to access locked and hidden apps on your phone

In iOS 18, you can hide sensitive apps or require authentication (e.g. Face ID) to open them. If you’d rather use them on your phone rather than through an app or web interface on your Mac, iPhone Mirroring lets you access them when the phone isn’t nearby.

If you do this, the iPhone Mirroring app will require authentication via Mac, as expected. Enter your Mac’s login password, use Touch ID, or authenticate with your connected Apple Watch to open locked apps or reveal the hidden folder on your phone.

If you are giving a presentation and want to show what is on the iPhone

Admittedly, this is a smaller subset of use cases, but if you need to demonstrate something on iPhone during an online or in-person presentation, iPhone Mirroring is a far easier option than other methods.

Aside from installing an overhead camera, the predominant method is to connect the iPhone to a Mac via a cable and use QuickTime Player to display the phone’s screen. Then you would still have to use the phone with your hands.

With iPhone Mirroring, the phone can now be connected wirelessly and operated using your Mac’s trackpad or mouse and keyboard.

The main limitation with this approach is that the mirrored connection will be interrupted if you need to do something on the phone.

And a streaming restriction that we would like to see changed

An unknown feature between Apple devices is the ability to stream media from an iPhone to a Mac using AirPlay. Is it time to sit back and watch a movie or catch an episode of your favorite TV show? You can launch it on iPhone and target Mac with its larger screen.

Since iPhone mirroring allows you to control an iPhone that is out of reach, it would be nice to start a movie playing on the Mac screen. However, digital rights management kills this idea when it comes to iPhone mirroring. Even though you can open an app like TV and start a show, the picture remains black.

This black screen also occurs when you use AirPlay to stream while iPhone mirroring is active. This only works if you physically control the phone and stream to the Mac.

iPhone Mirroring is just a new feature on iPhone and Mac running iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Don’t miss it How to spice up your texts in messages and how to work with the updated Control Center.