Nowadays, you can easily watch videos and movies on iPhone using apps like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, etc. However, have you ever try to watch movies from iPhone apps on your Mac? This is cool especially when you have large iMac with 21-inch monitor screen. You can view the videos on large screen with Mac’s audio and sit in a comfortable distance. All you need is a USB-C or lightning cable (this comes as part of iPhone and iMac purchase) to connect your iPhone and Mac. You do not need any third-party apps for this purpose.
Trust Your Mac on iPhone
The first step is to trust your Mac so it can access data from your iPhone.
- Connect your iPhone and Mac using the USB-C or lightning cable.
- You will be prompted to trust the computer on your iPhone and tap on “Trust” option.
- Type your passcode and trust the Mac.
1. Sharing Screens with Quick Time Player
- After trusting your Mac, open any movie or video on your iPhone. You can use any video streaming or browser app for this.
- On your Mac, press Command + Space to open Spotlight Search. Type “quick time player” and open Quick Time Player app.
- It will ask you to open a file and click “Cancel” button.
- Go to “File” menu and select “New Movie Recording” option. Alternatively, press Option + Command + N keys to open “New Movie Recording” screen.
- You will notice the camera is turned on and see your own video on the Mac’s screen. Click the small down arrow icon showing next to record button and select “iPhone” option under “Screen”.
- Now you will see the iPhone video is playing on your Mac.
- Rotate your iPhone to change the video to landscape (full screen) view and enjoy watching the video on your Mac.
If you do not hear the volume, hover over the video and unmute the speaker icon showing on the recording panel. Increase the volume by dragging the slider on the panel or use your Mac’s volume from top menu bar.
2. Using iPhone Mirroring App
If you are using macOS Sequoia (15.0) or later, it comes with an in-built iPhone Mirroring app for sharing your iPhone’s screen with Mac.
- Make sure your iPhone and Mac are connected to the same Wi-Fi network and are available nearby.
- Search and open iPhone Mirroring app on your Mac.
- Follow the instructions to provide the access from iPhone and finish the setup.
- Once connected, you can access all iPhone apps from your Mac’s screen.
- Open YouTube or any other video streaming app and watch the video.
Though this is easier than using QuickTime Player, you need to watch the video in small iPhone’s screen size and you can’t watch in full screen mode.
3. Using Screen Casting
This is the best option for sharing your video with any bigger screen (like your smart TV) when the devices are on the same network.
- When the video is playing on your iPhone, tap on the screen casting icon.
- You will be prompted to enable network access and tap on “Go to Settings” button.
- This will open the app’s settings page and turn on “Local Network” option.
- Now, the video will be shown on your Mac or TV and you can watch comfortably.
Note that some apps will show a notification for accessing the local network as shown below. Simply tap “OK” or go to “Settings > Apps > Your App” and turn on the “Local Network” option.
Considerations for Better Video Experience
It’s common to notice some disturbances on Mac’s screen while watching videos from iPhone.
Quick Time Player Video Quality and Recording Panel
- You can adjust the quality of the video by selecting high or maximum option from the recording panel.
- For hiding the recording panel while watching video, move the mouse to top bar or away from Quick Time Player app.
- Use full screen view for Quick Time Player or adjust the video size for your convenience.
Hiding Dock
If the dock is disturbing, go to “Apple menu > System Settings… > Desktop and Dock” section. Enable “Automatically hide and show the Dock” option. This will hide the dock when watching videos and you can make the Quick Time Player to full screen view.
If required, you can adjust the size of the Dock or change its position.
Disable Mac Screen Saver
Your screen saver setting will be another problem as Mac will consider the screen is idle while watching movie. It will be annoying and spoiling the fun to see the screen saver frequently. Go to “Apple menu > System Settings > Lock Screen” section. Change the inactive time for screen saver and display off to 2 or 3 hours based on your need.
Disable Assistive Touch Icon on iPhone
If you are using Assistive Touch icon on iPhone screen, it will be shown in the Quick Time Player on Mac also. Go to “Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch” on your iPhone and disable “AssistiveTouch option.
