My favorite new Apple feature is already the ability to mirror iPhones.

This year, the home screen redesign, the deep integration of Apple Intelligence into Apple devices, and a few other topics that didn't really interest me were the topics of all the buzz.

I kept going back and forth between "Oh, that's kind of nice" and "Huh?" throughout the presentation.

I was a little curious when Craig Federighi demonstrated the new iPhone Mirroring function in macOS Sequoia, but I wasn't very optimistic about its applicability to me specifically.

After the presentation, I couldn't help but wonder about Apple Intelligence, why the majority of those features were limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and why Apple was so adamant that the A16 Bionic couldn't support AI features like the A17 Pro could.

It goes without saying that I wasn't particularly optimistic about the future these sleek, new (and maybe glitchy) improvements held for me.

Is It Better to Be(ta) or Not?

That is the question that I think about after the WWDC keynotes every single year, without fail, and generally fall in to the frantic need to remain on the cutting edge of whatever Apple is delivering.

As is customary for me, I loaded the macOS Developer Beta on my M1 Air as soon as it was made available, completely disregarding the fact that this is my only laptop only), so if things go wrong with the beta, I'm in a really bad situation.

Luckily, this year was the first time in my memory that I was able to restrain myself from heedlessly downloading the iOS developer beta on my daily driving iPhone.

The Experience of iOS 18

My beta experience with iOS 18 has been excellent so far. I haven't encountered any significant glitches, other from the occasional glitch when my wallpaper won't load and I'm left gazing at my home screen with nothing on it.

Okay, so let me start by addressing the gimmicky aspects. Finally, I could alter the icon sizes and experiment with different icon-tinting settings. I also haphazardly put an app icon in the center of the home screen.

Since I truly don't need this customization on my phone, I swiftly went back to the original settings.

Afterward, I recalled .Mirroring iPhone .

Having loaded macOS Sequoia from the first day the beta was made available, I was now able to test iPhone Mirroring with iOS 18's Public Beta.

What Makes This Oddly Compulsive?

Using iPhone Mirroring may get somewhat addicting. It allows me to use a physical keyboard in addition to making it very convenient for me to use my phone on my Mac screen without having to take it out of my pocket or pick it up from my desk whenever I receive a notification while working that's interesting or important.

I get what you're thinking—this is almost the identical use case that Apple described during their demo—but the reason I decided to write this blog is because I believe it's a very good use case.

Even more bizarre is the fact that, even when I'm not using it, I often find myself unintentionally leaving iPhone Mirroring on for extended periods of time. When I get iPhone alerts on my Mac, it's useful since I can quickly access the mirrored iPhone display by using the command-tab shortcut, at which point I may take appropriate action about the notice that caught my attention.

Additionally, mirroring lets me keep my iPhone unlocked so I can keep playing light games on my Mac and Typically Thus, nobody will be able to determine that I'm not really employed. Editor's Note: I didn't intend to imply that I play iPhone apps on my Mac for hours at a time—this final line was only a joke. I can't help but get completely absorbed in any study or website analysis that comes my way. Completely.

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You can use the Mac trackpad for all the gestures you need, but it's helpful to have keyboard shortcuts for the most commonly used gestures and actions on the iPhone. For example, I can press command+1 to go to the homescreen, command+2 to open the App Switcher, and command+3 to open Spotlight. Of course, these are just basic keyboard shortcuts.

Even though it lacks some features, I'm already hooked.

Although drag and drop functionality for quickly moving photos, screenshots, and other files between your Mac and iPhone is not yet available (that will be added "later this year"), iPhone Mirroring feels incredibly well-built and provides enough convenience to make me want to use it constantly.

I can't say the same for many things provided by several tech businesses, so when a feature that resonates with me, at least, comes along, it's refreshing.

There are problems as well

One strange (and bizarre) problem I had with iPhone Mirroring was Snapchat.

I wouldn't describe myself as a devoted Snapchat user. Actually, my wife and I just installed the app because we used it the first time we went out; it's simply something that has remained with us. That's the only reason I even have it loaded. I have two other persons and that person as my Snapchat contacts.

I was notified a few days ago that I had gotten a snap from one of my Snapchat pals. Rather of taking out my phone, I choose to just utilize iPhone Mirroring to see the picture and reply, if needed.

I then used iPhone Mirroring to launch the Snapchat app, tapped on the newly transmitted picture, and watched the three or four haphazard films that were sent to me. You can only imagine my shock when I told her over Snapchat that I had screen taped the conversation.

Though, looking back, I can see why Snapchat thought I was filming the screen, it was a strange little thing that I hadn't anticipated. I messaged my buddy right away, explaining that the screen recording warning appeared because I was using iPhone Mirroring. We laughed a lot about it, but if you use Snapchat often, be aware that all of your friends will think you are screen recording every picture they give you. This is strange and a little unsettling.

Mac Mirror Mirror …

This is not the first time I have attempted to mirror a smartphone screen to my laptop, nor is phone mirroring a novel concept. Nonetheless, it is clear from Apple's implementation of the function that it has been quite thoroughly thought out.

Despite the missing capability, iPhone Mirroring is already quite functional, and I find myself using my iPhone applications more on the Mac than on the iPhone.

iPhone Mirroring performs as I had anticipated, and it does so flawlessly. There are no delays or unexpected problems, and given that this is the first Public Beta version, I can only expect improvements.

This feature may seem insignificant to someone outside of the confines of the garden that Apple has created for those of us inside the ecosystem—perhaps even “late to the party”—but what a party it is.