Apple has just launched the macOS Sequoia public beta, meaning you can install macOS 15 now and try out a host of the new features that are coming later this year. In the absence of Apple Intelligence – which is currently nowhere to be found -- one of my favorite additions is iPhone Mirroring, which displays a fully interactive version of your iPhone on your Mac’s display. Unfortunately, in its current state, iPhone Mirroring is missing a key aspect that made it so enticing in the first place.
When Apple demoed iPhone Mirroring at WWDC 2024 in June, it explained that the feature would let you interact with iPhone apps on your Mac, letting you type, swipe and scroll to your heart’s content. Notifications from iOS show up in macOS Sequoia, and you can change settings, launch apps and generally use your iPhone just as you would normally (including apps that don't typically run on Macs).
The best part of the demo, though, was when Apple’s Craig Federighi showed how iPhone Mirroring lets you drag a file from your Mac and drop it directly into an app on your iPhone. The file doesn’t just get stashed in some downloads folder for later retrieval – Federighi moved a video clip into a template in the Unfold app, without any steps in between.
That functionality got me excited. I often use Dropbox to quickly send files between my Mac and my iPhone, but this is nowhere near as seamless as iPhone Mirroring because it requires fetching files from the syncing folder. With Apple’s new feature, I might be able to ditch Dropbox entirely. Or I would, that is, if iPhone Mirroring’s drag and drop feature was present in the macOS Sequoia public beta.
Better late than never
There’s been no official word from Apple on when drag and drop might make an appearance in iPhone Mirroring, so for now we’re just going to have to wait and see.
It’s not unusual for features announced at WWDC to be delayed as Apple works on getting them right. After all, the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform Apple Intelligence is also totally absent from the macOS Sequoia and iOS 18 public betas. According to a report from journalist Mark Gurman, some aspects of Apple Intelligence might not even land until 2025, as Apple needs more time to polish them to perfection.
So, while it’s a little disappointing that I can’t yet start playing around with my favorite part of iPhone Mirroring, I’m not too worried. The rest of the iPhone Mirroring feature exists in the public beta, and while there’s no drag and drop for now, it’s still a helpful addition.
I’d rather Apple took its time to get a feature right than rush out something buggy and broken that creates a bad first impression. We’ve seen it do just that before (I’m looking at you, Stage Manager), and if waiting a little longer means the iPhone Mirroring drag and drop experience is better than ever, that’s fine with me.
