How To Use The New iPhone Continuity Camera Features On Mac

Getting Continuity Camera set up is fairly simple once you’ve got your devices on hand and updated to their necessary OS versions. To start, open an app on your Mac that will use either the camera or microphone (Apple suggests something like PhotoBooth or FaceTime). Once you’re ready to start recording, open the app’s settings and select your iPhone as the input camera or microphone — so long as both devices are connected to your Apple ID, you should see it as an option even if your iPhone isn’t physically plugged into your Mac. 

This will open up the Continuity app on your iPhone, which will begin using the rear-facing camera to record video. From there you will have direct control over pausing and resuming your recording through the iPhone. And when you’re ready to stop using it as a webcam, just quit the app on your Mac.

While Continuity Camera is able to work wirelessly, you should take a moment to check your iPhone’s battery and consider how long you plan to record. If you think there’s a chance your phone may lose power before you finish, plug it in somewhere (you can even connect it to your Mac to both charge and provide the video feed) before you get started. Plugging your iPhone in to charge while Continuity Camera is already active shouldn’t interrupt your recording, so don’t worry too much if you have to deal with a low battery part way through your video.