Apple has two OS for its products, MacOS and iOS. Nevertheless, these two work with each other in seamless fashion. Let’s say your computer is a Mac and your smartphone is from Apple, and you are hoping to work together, then you have come to the right place! With macOS and iOS working together, you can put a break and continue your work from one device to another, making your work easier. And, this is only the start of things!
In this post, we have listed some of the steps which can make both the devices work together.
1. Copy & Paste Content From MacTo iPhone:
With the wonderful feature, Continuity, Apple devices can work together seamlessly. The Universal Clipboard feature helps you to share clipboard content between your Mac computer and iPhone. You can copy, paste text and graphics between two devices, you need to make sure that:
- You have signed in with the same iCloud account on both devices.
- Bluetooth should be turned on both devices.
- You should have enabled Handoff setting. You need to enable “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices,” to do that you need to click on Apple icon and then System Preferences.
- From the System Preferences, click General
On iOS:
- Locate Settings and then click General.
Once enabled, you can copy content from your Mac and paste it on your iPhone.
2. Resume Tasks:
You can stop tasks on one Apple device, resume the task on another device.
For instance:
- You can start making Notes on your Mac and resume Notes on your Mac. If Notes app is active on your iPhone, then you can see the special icon in Dock of Mac. Click to resume the notes.
- If you were writing notes on Mac and want to resume it to your iPhone, then you need to click Notes icon from the app switcher. To get the screen, you need to double press the Home button on iPhone.
The Handoff feature works well with apps like Safari, Pages, Mail, and Reminders.
3. Web pages, Drop Files, and More:
If you want to share or transfer files between your iPhone and Mac, you can use an inbuilt file transfer app AirDrop for Mac and iOS devices
- You need to enable Wifi and Bluetooth on both the devices to make it work.
- To start the process, choose Share-> AirDrop from the context menu of the folder or files from your Mac to iPhone.
- Select destination device when Share dialog-box comes up.
- If you want to transfer the files in a different direction, then choose the files that you want to send.
Once done, tap Share button, to reveal AirDrop option in Share menu.
You can not only share and transfer files and folders with AirDrop but also notes, photos, web pages and contacts.
4. Share Internet Connection:
To share the connection, you need to put a checkmark on Internet Sharing. Then click on Start at the prompt to confirm.
To get the internet connection of iPhone on Mac, go to Settings, and then enable Personal Hotspot. You will get your iPhone network in the list of networks on Mac and connect. You can also use USB cable or Bluetooth for tethering.
5. Close Down Safari Tabs:
If iCloud syncing works for Safari on your iPhone and Mac, you can close the opened tabs from one device to another. To initiate the sync:
- MacOS: Click Apple icon and then choose System Preferences. From System Preferences, click iCloud and then put a checkmark beside Safari.
- iOS: Go to Settings and click Apple ID. Now select iCloud and then swipe toggle switch beside Safari to the right to enable.Once you have made the changes, Safari tabs opened in iPhone will appear on Mac. You can scroll and check them out.
To get the tab switcher, press CMD+Shift+Backslash(\)
To close the tabs, click on the red cross button. Also if you want to check out the iCloud tabs, you can enable the Show iCloud Tabs toolbar button.You can also control the tabs of Mac on iPhone, you can quickly access them from tab switcher. To show the tab switcher, tap on Tabs toolbar button from the lower right corner. To get the close button, slide the tab name to the left-hand side.
6. Type on Your iPhone Via Mac’s Keyboard:
Let’s say an iPhone app also has a Mac version and supports iCloud sync, then whatever you type in an app on iPhone will appear on the app on Mac desktop and vice versa.
7. Receive & Make Calls From Mac Computer:
You can make as well as receive FaceTime and cellular calls on your iPhone via Mac computer. If you want this work, you need to make sure your mac and iPhone are connected on the same network. Also, they should be signed in with same iCloud account as well as FaceTime account. To make it work, you need to activate the settings:
- On macOS: Open FaceTime and then Preferences. Now go to Settings followed by Calls from iPhone
- On iOS: You need to locate Settings. Then navigate to Phone and then Calls on Other Devices. Under Calls on Other Devices, tap on Allow Calls on Other Devices. Once activated, whenever you receive a call on your iPhone, you will see an alert on your Mac. You can decline or accept the call from your Mac as well.
If you want to make calls from your Mac, then you need to select the number, make a right click. Then choose Call Number using iPhone from the menu and click Call option.
8. Send as well as Receive SMS From Your Mac:
You can send and receive SMS from your Mac computer using iPhone provided you have Text Message Forwarding settings is enabled. You can activate these settings from Settings, then Messages->Text Message Forwarding settings
Note: You need to make sure that your phone number is working and email address is still good on iMessage.
To make it work, you need to place a checkmark beside specific contact information in Messages app settings:
- On macOS: Click Messages, then select Preferences and choose Accounts.
- On iOS: Locate Settings icon, then Messages and under Messages, click Send & Receive.
Once enabled, you are ready to send or receive messages from your Mac. You can initiate an iMessage just as on iPhone.Now you know how to use Mac and iPhone together. Try these tricks and use native features and third-party apps to work easily from your iPhone to Mac and vice versa.