While everyone rushes to download the latest version of iOS on their iPhone so they can try out all the new features, updating isn’t as exciting on the Mac. The strength of an update is measured in performance rather than features, and many marquee announcements come and go with little fanfare. Raise your hand if you know how to use Stage Manager.
So assuming you’re running Sequoia by now, it’s probably not all that different than Sonoma. Maybe you’ve tried some Apple Intelligence features, set up the new Passwords app, or jotted down a math note or two—but I’m willing to bet there’s a feature you haven’t tried yet that will top them all.
It’s called iPhone Mirroring and it was one of the marquee features released last fall with macOS Sequoia. You probably remember hearing about it—but if you haven’t tried it you need to right now. You can find the iPhone Mirroring app in your Applications folder. Launch the app (which has one of the worst icons Apple has ever made) and you can access a nearby iPhone on your Mac’s screen provided they’re signed into the same Apple account. It seems like a party trick, maybe even a gimmick, but trust me—try it once and it’ll change your entire workflow.
Even though I work at my Mac, my iPhone is rarely out of reach and I probably pick it up 20-plus times a day to do some mindless task: clear a notification, check a score, scroll through my Instagram feed, or do one of a number of things I can already do on my Mac but don’t. iPhone Mirroring takes away the temptation to pick up my phone in two ways: It pushes all notifications to my Mac so I can act on them in the Notification Center, and projects a virtual representation of my iPhone right on my Mac’s screen.
I won’t get into the how-to of it here (you can read all about that in our separate article), but I will sing its praises. Not only is it incredibly cool to see in action, but it’s incredibly useful too. A dozen times a day I use it to grab a link, check an app, or grab a screenshot. It’s as if the two devices are one.
Sure, I still waste time on my iPhone throughout the day, but the number of interactions has been cut down considerably. The main reason is how seamlessly it all works. Once you set it up, which takes all of 30 seconds, your Mac will basically act as a wireless external display for your iPhone. Launch the app and your iPhone will appear in the middle of the screen as if you were holding it in front of your face.
It’s not perfect—the biggest missing feature is the ability to flip the virtual iPhone into landscape mode—but for the most part, you can do everything you would on your phone with your mouse and it all works like magic. I find that when I use iPhone Mirroring I spend less time with my iPhone and get back to work much quicker. It enhances both my Mac and iPhone experience and ties the two together in a way only Apple can.
