10 handy ways to use Mac and iPhone together

MacOS and iOS work well together. If both your desktop and phone are Apple products, you have a lot of useful features at hand.

Let's discover the best ways you can use both devices together!

1. Copy and paste the content

It's easy to seamlessly move data between your Apple devices, thanks to a variety of special features called Continuity. The Universal Clipboard feature is part of this series of features, and it allows you to share clipboard content between your Mac and iPhone.

To copy and paste text or graphics between two devices, you need to make sure that on both devices:

1. You are logged in with the same iCloud account.
2. Bluetooth is turned on.
3. You have enabled Handoff settings. On macOS, it is called Allow Handoff between this Mac and iCloud devices and is located in the System Preferences> General section . On iOS, you will see it listed as Handoff in Settings> General .

Then, you can copy the content on your Mac and paste it anywhere on your iPhone and vice versa.

2. Continue work

As long as you have the settings outlined in the section above, you can also stop tasks on one device and continue that work on another device.

For example, you can start importing a note in Notes on iPhone and complete notes in Notes on a Mac. The Notes app that works on your phone receives a special icon in the Mac's Dock on the far left. (Look for the Notes icon with a small phone attached to it). Click the Dock icon to continue importing notes.

If you're continuing to take notes from the Mac on your iPhone, you'll have to click the Notes banner that appears at the bottom of the app converter screen. To display this screen, double-click the Home button on your phone.

This Handoff feature of Apple works with many different applications including Mail, Safari, Reminders and Pages.

3. Transfer files, websites and more with AirDrop

To share files between Mac and iPhone, you can use AirDrop, Apple's built-in file transfer utility for desktops and mobile devices.

After you turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both devices, make sure they can detect each other, sharing is simple. (Devices do not need to be on the same network).

To start sharing, select the Share> AirDrop option from the context menu of the file or folder you want to send from your Mac to iPhone. Then select the target device when it appears in the Share dialog box .

If you are transferring files from iPhone to Mac, first select the file you want to transfer. Then click the Share button to display the AirDrop option in the Share menu.

Not only can you transfer files and folders with AirDrop, but you can also transfer other data types. This includes web pages, notes, contacts and photos.

Remember that AirDrop may be unstable. If you have trouble using AirDrop, apply a few tips to troubleshoot problems when transferring files.

4. Play music, movies and TV shows

You can play music from iPhone on Mac with a Lightning USB cable. But if you want to stream (or project) wireless content from your Mac and iPhone, you can use Apple's AirPlay feature. Both devices cannot function as an AirPlay receiver, but Apple TV is possible. It costs from $ 149.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can choose a software like Reflector ($ 15) instead. It simulates an AirPlay receiver and allows you to transfer content from iPhone to Mac. To transfer content from a Mac to iPhone, you can use StreamtoMe.

5. Share Internet connection

You need a simple tweak to turn your Mac's Internet connection into a Wi-Fi hotspot. First, go to System Preferences> Sharing and enable Internet Sharing. Then click on the Start button at the confirmation prompt.

To use the Internet connection on your iPhone on a Mac (called tethering), you need to turn on the Personal Hotspot option in the Settings section of your iPhone. After that, your mobile device will display in the network list on your Mac and you can connect to that device.

Instead of Wi-Fi, you can also use Bluetooth or a USB cable to share the connection. The experience of this feature may vary depending on your service provider. If you encounter any problems, please follow troubleshooting tips to share the connection via iPhone.

6. Close the Safari tabs

If you enable iCloud for Safari synchronization on Mac and iPhone, you can close open tabs on one device from the other device. To set up synchronization:

1. On macOS: Access System Preferences> iCloud and activate Safari.
2. On iOS: Go to Settings> Apple ID> iCloud and turn on Safari.

After you make these changes, Safari tabs from the iPhone will show up in the Safari tab converter on a Mac. You may need to scroll down to view them.

(To display the tab switch, press Shift + Cmd + (), or click View> Show Tab Overview ).

To close one of iCloud tabs, click the Close button that appears when you hover over it. If you want quick access to iCloud tabs, hold the Show iCloud Tabs button.

Now, on your iPhone, you'll see the Mac Safari tabs listed under your active tabs, in the tab switch. To display the tab switch, click the Tabs button at the bottom right. Slide the tab name to the left to display its Close button.

7. Unlock Mac with iPhone

You will need a third-party application to facilitate the use of the iPhone's Touch ID password or fingerprint to unlock the Mac. You can try Tether (Free) or FingerKey - $ 3 (reference link: fingerkeyapp.com). Unlox ($ 4), formerly known as MacID, is another great option.

If you have Apple Watch, you can use it to unlock your Mac, simply by sitting in front of it. That's because the Auto Unlock feature is active.

8. Type the text on the iPhone with the Mac's keyboard

If the iPhone application you are importing has a Mac version and iCloud synchronization support, everything you enter into the desktop application will show up in the mobile version and vice versa.

Even if that's not an option, a Mac application that emulates a Bluetooth keyboard can still work. You should choose Typeeto ($ 20), along with a free trial version.

9. Make and receive calls from Mac

You can receive and perform both Mobile and FaceTime calls on your iPhone from a Mac. To do this, your Mac and iPhone must be connected to the same network and log in with the same iCloud and FaceTime accounts. You must also enable these settings:

1. On macOS: Facetime> Preferences> Settings> Calls from iPhone
2. On iOS: Settings> Phone> Calls on Other Devices> Allow Calls on Other Devices . (From the same item, turn on the switch button for the Mac mentioned).

Now, when you receive a call on your phone, you will see a notification for a call on your Mac. You can accept or reject a call from this message.

To make a call from a Mac, right-click the phone number or link of the application first from any application. Next, click the Call [Number] option using the iPhone in the context menu and then select the Call option in the warning that appears.

10. Send and receive SMS from Mac

You can use your Mac to send text messages using iPhone, if you turn on Text Message Forwarding from Settings> Messages on your iPhone.

You must also ensure that you can access your phone number and email address on iMessage. To do this, select the relevant contact details in the Messages application settings:

1. On macOS: From Messages> Preferences> Accounts
2. On iOS: From Settings> Messages> Send & Receive

You are now ready to send SMS from your Mac. Start the iMessage conversation as usual, but this time you can choose the phone number to send the message to. With the on-site text forwarding feature, you will be able to do this.

As a Mac user, you don't always need to buy an iPhone (and vice versa), but if you have both, it will be quite convenient. You can use a combination of original features and third-party applications to easily move everything from your Mac to iPhone and vice versa.

Good luck!

See more:

1. Best app for iPhone
2. Top 100 free apps for Mac OS X
3. 18 useful features on macOS operating system you may not know yet