When Apple launched macOS Sequoia and its new iPhone Mirroring functionality, I did not get it. Now, although, after seeing it in motion and contemplating some non-obvious use instances, I could also be able to rethink.
Apple unveiled the newest AI-infused model of macOS throughout its WWDC 2024 keynote, which additionally noticed main updates to iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, tvOS, and watchOS. It additionally served because the launch platform for Apple Intelligence, an Apple-built and branded model of synthetic intelligence. I get that Apple’s been constructing AI PCs for some time (ever because the M1 chip, they’ve included an on-board neural engine), and there are a lot of options, together with a greater Siri, highly effective picture modifying options, and sensible writing assist, to stay up for however I discovered myself fixating elsewhere.
Apple was placing the iPhone in your Mac, or, quite, an iPhone display floating in the course of the beautiful macOS Sequoia desktop. In a approach, that is essentially the most vital redesign of the brand new platform. It places a wholly completely different OS – a cellular one, no much less – on high of a laptop computer or desktop.
Wow. And in addition, why?
I admit that I had a tough time conceiving what utility you can acquire from having a second, dwell interface on an already busy desktop. Apple has stated previously that they construct options, in some instances, primarily based on consumer requests. Who had ever requested for this?
After the keynote, I had the prospect to take a deeper dive, which helped me higher perceive this seemingly unholy marriage and why, in some instances, it would make excellent sense.
Making it so
Apple constructed a brand new app to attach your iOS 18-running iPhone to your macOS Sequoia Mac. In a demo I noticed, it took one click on to make it occur. Behind the scenes, the 2 programs are constructing a safe Bluetooth and WiFi connection. On the iPhone, there’s a message that mirroring is dwell. On the Mac, effectively, there’s the iPhone display, full with the dynamic Island cutout (an odd selection should you ask me – why virtualize lifeless area?).
I used to be actually shocked on the stage of iPhone performance Apple may deliver to the Mac desktop.
You need to use the Mac trackpad to swipe via iPhone apps.
You may click on to launch apps and run them contained in the iPhone display in your Mac desktop.
Pinch and zoom on the Mac trackpad works as anticipated with the iPhone apps.
There’s even full drag-and-drop functionality between the 2 interfaces. So you can take a video from the Go Professional app in your mirrored iPhone display and drag and drop it into one other app, like Closing Reduce Professional on the Mac.
Basically, you’re reaching via one massive display to get to a different smaller one – on a unique platform – that’s sitting locked beside your desktop. It is stange and funky, however is it essential?
Not all the things is smart. You may search via your mirrored cellphone display, however why not simply search in your desktop?
You need to use the mirrored iPhone display in panorama mode and play video games. Nevertheless, there isn’t any apparent technique to inform somebody making an attempt to play a recreation that makes use of the iPhone gyroscope that it is a dangerous concept.
I like that there is sufficient consciousness that whereas the iPhone display can look precisely just like the display on the cellphone, you’ll be able to click on to entry a barely bigger body that lets you management the mirrored display.
It isn’t the sort of mirroring that locks you in. To finish it, you simply choose up and unlock the cellphone to finish the connection.
Even seeing all this, although, I questioned how individuals would possibly use iPhone Mirroring.
Even seeing all this, although, I questioned how individuals would possibly use iPhone Mirroring. There’s the chance to play some video games that are not obtainable on Mac. Multi-player phrase recreation followers would possibly like that in the event that they get a notification, they’ll open the mirrored cellphone display, make a transfer, after which return to work.
When macOS Sequoia ships later this fall, you may even be capable to resize the mirrored iPhone window, which I suppose might be helpful for panorama video games.
Notifications out of your cellphone sounds redundant, particularly for these of us within the iCloud ecosystem the place all our Apple merchandise get the identical iMessages. However the system is sensible sufficient to comprehend it should not repeat notifications on each screens, and you will have the choice to resolve which iPhone notifications seem in your Mac.
Some notifications solely seem in your iPhone, and others seem in each locations, however you’ll be able to’t all the time act on them on the Mac. This new characteristic would possibly bridge that hole. A fellow journalist talked about that iPhone mirroring would lastly give him a technique to bounce from a notification he noticed on his Mac for his child cam app, the place that is no cam app, to the dwell feed on the iPhone. This lastly struck me as really helpful.
Is that sufficient of a purpose to have your iPhone display pasted in your Mac desktop? I do not know. It would take up an excessive amount of actual property on my MacBook Air 13-inch, however it will be sort of cool on a 27-inch iMac, if I had one.