iPhone-Mirroring on the Mac: even better, but without EU

Since iOS 18 and MacOS 15 from autumn 2025, Apple operating systems have a practical remote control function for iPhones: with the iPhone-Mirroring alias iPhone synchronization You can control an Apple cell phone from the Mac desktop without having to grab the device. This makes everyday work a lot easier because you can react directly from the large screen to notifications on the iPhone – or use apps that have not yet been available on the Mac. The problem: The feature is still not released due to regulatory problems that Apple sees. With iOS 26 and MacOS 26, Apple has now even added other features, while local users look into the tube.

Now also from the Mac: Where is my food?

Not only are not only notifications from the iPhone to the Mac, but also live activities. These are background processes with which users can observe ongoing processes – be it a meal order, the arrival of a taxis or the course of a flight. On the iPhone, the information ends up on the blocking screen or in the Dynamic Island, on the Mac you can now be found in the menu bar from MacOS 26 alias Taoe.

There you can either see a mini version (similar to what you know from the Dynamic Island) or a large variant of live activity. This is seamlessly integrated: If you click twice, you also end up in the app on the mirrored iPhone. Since the iPhone Mirroring does not know an official lock screen, current processes are only passed through in this way. What unfortunately still lacks is a communication center on the mirrored iPhone: In contrast to almost all other iPhone functions, this cannot be called up because Apple is optionally forwarding the smartphone notification to the Mac’s news center. Here, a separation would be very useful, at least on request.

EU implementation further unclear

Apple has further details on the implementation of live activities on the Mac In a separate auxiliary document summarized. Here it is also explained how to get rid of the live activities if they interfere in practice.

The iPhone Mirroring only appears on the Mac if you don’t use an EU account. This is linked to the “Medien & App Store” access, but not the iCloud access. It remains unclear whether Apple will release the service in the EU for the foreseeable future. Most recently, the manufacturer had massively criticized the EU Act DMA, which forced regulation.