When you use a Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch, you’re able to do incredible things. And when you use them together, you can do so much more. Make and receive phone calls without picking up your iPhone. Use your iPad to extend the workspace of your Mac. Automatically unlock your Mac when you’re wearing your Apple Watch. It’s like they were all made for each other. Because they were.
Control both your Mac and your iPad with a single keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Move your cursor fluidly between them. And create like never before using the power of both devices. For example, use Apple Pencil to draw detailed illustrations on iPad, then use your mouse to drag them right into a presentation you’re putting together on Mac.
Share content — like videos or Keynote slides — from another Apple device on the big, high-quality screen of your Mac. Mirror or extend your display to pump up your productivity. You can also use your Mac as an AirPlay speaker and enjoy high-fidelity room-filling sound from another device.
Sidecar lets you extend your workspace by using your iPad as a second Mac display. Work in one app while you reference another or view your main canvas on one display while spreading out your tools and palettes on the other. You can also mirror the screens so they both display the same content, making it perfect for sharing exactly what you see with others.
Express your creativity. With Apple Pencil. Sidecar also brings the ease and precision of Apple Pencil to your favorite creative Mac apps. Use Apple Pencil to design in Illustrator, edit photos in Affinity Photo, or create 3D models in ZBrush. Simply drag your content to your iPad to get started. The handy sidebar even puts essential Command, Control, and Shift keys right at your fingertips.
Continuity Markup lets you sign documents, correct papers, or circle important details in images. Use your Apple Pencil on iPad or your finger on iPhone and see updates live on your Mac. And Continuity Sketch lets you create a sketch on your iPad or iPhone that automatically inserts into any document on your Mac.
With a Mac and iPhone, you can send and receive SMS text messages — the ones in green bubbles — right from your Mac. All the messages that appear on your iPhone appear on your Mac, too, so all your conversations are up to date on all your devices. And when friends text you — regardless of what phone they have — you can respond from your Mac or your iPhone, whichever is closest.1 You can also start an SMS or iMessage conversation on your Mac by clicking a phone number in Safari, Contacts, Calendar, or Spotlight.
Take iPhone calls right on your Mac, Apple Watch, or iPad. You can answer a call or dial a new one while your iPhone is buried in your backpack or is charging in another room. Just click or tap to accept the call, and say hello.2
Receiving calls. When a call comes to your iPhone, you can answer the call on your Mac, Apple Watch, or iPad. You’ll get a notification showing you the caller’s name, number, and profile picture. You’ll also hear a ringtone — the same ringtone you have for that person on your iPhone. Click the notification to answer, and your Mac becomes a speakerphone, so you can have a phone conversation while you continue what you’re doing.
Making calls. Making a phone call from your Mac is as easy as receiving one. You can click any phone number you see in Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Spotlight, or Safari to dial a call. You can even start a call from your FaceTime call history or enter the digits on your keyboard.
Use your iPhone to shoot a nearby object or scan a document and have it automatically appear on your Mac. Just choose Insert a Photo from the File menu, then choose Take Photo or Scan Documents. Take a photo of something on your desk and instantly see it in your Pages document. Or scan a receipt, and a straightened version is immediately available in the Finder as a PDF. Continuity Camera works in the Finder, Mail, Messages, Notes, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. It’s another way iPhone and Mac just click.
Automatically log in to your Mac when you’re wearing your Apple Watch. No password typing required. Need to take a quick call or step away? Get right back to work when you return.
Say you start writing an email on your iPhone, but you want to finish it on your Mac. Or you start writing a report on your iMac, but want to continue on your iPad as you head to your meeting. Handoff makes it possible. When your Mac, iOS, or iPadOS devices are near each other, they can automatically pass what you’re doing from one device to another.3 An icon representing the last app you were using will appear on your second device — in the Dock on your Mac or iPad or in the App Switcher on your iPhone. Just click or tap to pick up right where you left off without having to search for the file. Handoff works with Mail, Safari, Notes, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts. And app developers can easily build Handoff into their apps.
Copy images, video, or text from an app on your iPhone or iPad. Then paste into another app on your nearby Mac — or vice versa. There are no extra steps. Just copy and paste as you normally do. Find a great recipe while browsing on your Mac? Paste the ingredients right to the grocery list on your iPhone or iPad. You can even copy and paste entire files between two Mac systems.
AirDrop makes sharing files between Mac and iOS or iPadOS devices simple. With just a few clicks on your Mac, you can take a file from any folder and use AirDrop to send it to a nearby Mac, iPhone, or iPad. And since AirDrop is peer to peer, it works without a Wi-Fi network. It’s perfect for, say, sharing a document with a coworker in the next room or sending a presentation to a client across the table. You can use AirDrop to send files from the Share menu in your apps or from the Finder. Recipients will receive a notification, which they can simply click or tap to download the file.
No Wi-Fi? No problem. With Instant Hotspot, your Mac can remotely activate the Personal Hotspot on your iPhone when they are near each other.4 Simply select your iPhone from the Wi-Fi menu on your Mac and you’ll be online in seconds. You can even leave your iPhone in your pocket or bag. When connected to your Personal Hotspot, your Mac displays the signal strength and battery life of your iPhone at the top of the Wi-Fi menu. After you finish browsing, the hotspot automatically deactivates to preserve battery life. The next time you want to get online and there’s no Wi-Fi, your Mac will ask you if you want to use your hotspot again. Just click OK to get online.