You can mirror your iPhone screen to a Mac with QuickTime and a Lightning to USB cable.
You can also mirror your iPhone’s screen to a Mac wirelessly with AirPlay.
When using AirPlay, both the iPhone and Mac need to be on the same W-Fi network.
One of the iPhone’s greatest assets is its connectivity. Built into Apple products are several ways to share what you’re viewing or working on from your iPhone to a Mac.
This can be useful if you want to display a photo album or app on your computer, stream music from Apple Music or Spotify from an iPhone to your Mac, or play video content directly from iPhone apps like Hulu. You can even record whatever you’re doing on your phone when you’re screen mirroring from iPhone to Mac.
Quick tip: When screen mirroring from iPhone to Mac, videos can only be streamed, but you can transfer videos between an iPhone and a Mac with AirDrop, iCloud, and iTunes.
There are various ways to mirror your iPhone to your Mac, however, the easiest way is to either use the QuickTime app on your Mac or the Screen Mirroring feature on your iPhone, which uses AirPlay.
Here’s how to do both.
How to mirror your iPhone to a Mac with QuickTime
1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a Lightning to USB cable.
2. Open QuickTime on your Mac.
3. Click on File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
4. Click New Movie Recording.
Under “File,” click “New Movie Recording.”
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5. Next to the red record button (bottom middle), click on the down arrow.
6. Select your iPhone from the list of available devices. If it’s not there, try disconnecting and reconnecting your iPhone.
Select your iPhone from the dropdown menu to connect to it.
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7. Your phone should now be fully mirrored on your computer, in the exact shape of your iPhone screen.
Note: If you press the red record button, you can also record a video of your iPhone’s screen.
How to mirror your iPhone to a Mac with AirPlay
AirPlay is an Apple feature that lets you wirelessly stream content from one device to another. It’s designed for streaming from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to an Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible smart TV.
Important: Make sure the iPhone and Mac are connected to the same wireless network – otherwise, AirPlay won’t be able to establish a connection between the two devices.
You can either AirPlay content directly from an app that allows for AirPlay like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or the NFL app. Or, you can AirPlay your entire iPhone screen by opening the Control Center.
1. If you’re AirPlaying from within an app, start playing content, like a show or movie, and hit the AirPlay symbol (it’s a rectangle with a solid triangle at the bottom) in the upper-right corner of the video.
When playing content within some apps, like YouTube, you have the option to AirPlay the video.
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If you’re AirPlaying from the Control Center, tap the Screen Mirroring tile.
Tap “Screen Mirroring” in the Control Center on your iPhone.
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2. Once you’ve selected either the AirPlay symbol from within an app or Screen Mirroring from the Control Center, a pop-up will ask you to select a device — tap the name of your Mac.
Note: Your iPhone might ask for an AirPlay Code, which will be displayed on your Mac. Type the code into the text box on your iPhone, and then tap OK.
Your iPhone content will now show up on your Mac computer’s screen.