Your iPhone Has a Neat Feature You Probably Didn’t Know About

If you take a video call on your Mac and don’t have an external microphone or headphones/earbuds with a built-in mic, did you know that your iPhone can step in?

That’s right, your iPhone has the ability to function as an external mic for your Mac. And yes, it’s likely to make you sound better because the built-in mics on a Mac — especially older Macs — aren’t as good as those on your iPhone.

Here’s what you need to know.

Turn your iPhone into a Mac mic

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Apple introduced the ability to use your iPhone as a Mac external microphone with macOS 13, which was released in the fall of 2022.

The feature is an extension of Continuity Camera, which also allows you to use your iPhone’s camera as a webcam for your Mac. It’s simple to use as you just have to follow a few steps.

The only caveat is that both your iPhone and Mac must be running iOS 16 and macOS 13, respectively, or later, which shouldn’t be a problem since both have been available since 2022. And your iPhone and Mac need to be registered under the same Apple Account.

1. Make sure your iPhone and Mac are next to each other.
2. Select the Apple icon in your Mac’s top-left corner.
3. Select System Settings.
4. Scroll down and select Sound (left column).
5. In the Output & Input section, click the Input tab.
6. Select the line that shows your iPhone and reads “Camera Continuity.”

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Once the input is selected, your iPhone will make a ping sound — typically takes a second — and start functioning as a microphone for your Mac. Once you’re finished, simply select the “Disconnect” button on your iPhone.

Note: If you select Disconnect and then follow the above steps to re-use your iPhone as a microphone for your Mac, you might not see the Camera Continuity option in Sound settings. If that is the case, make your Mac “sleep” and then try again. Your iPhone should appear as an option.

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