Mirror Your Mac Screen to Your iPhone
Published 2026-09-26 · Updated 2026-10-05
People search for “mirror Mac screen to iPhone” when they want to see the desktop on the phone — sometimes to watch, often to work it from the couch or on cellular data. Poket PC’s Screen view streams your Mac’s display to your iPhone so you can tap, scroll, drag, and long-press to right-click, not just look.
This is not AirPlay. AirPlay is built for playback from Apple devices to a TV or speaker. Poket PC is remote desktop: the helper captures the main display, encodes it, and sends it to your paired phone while your gestures and keyboard input go back to the Mac.
Live screen specs (what ships today)
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Codec | H.264 |
| Frame rate | 30 fps, on the same Wi-Fi and through the relay |
| Display | Main monitor only |
| Long edge | Up to 1600 px |
| Audio | Not streamed (planned) |
| Multi-monitor | Not yet (planned) |
HEVC and choosing a display are planned; until they ship, plan around a single main display.
Set up so the screen is not black
The helper needs Screen Recording to capture the display for your phone. On macOS 14 Sonoma the permission is listed as Screen Recording under System Settings › Privacy & Security. On macOS 15 and later the same list is named Screen & System Audio Recording. The helper uses it only to send the screen to your paired phone while you are connected; the stream is not recorded or kept.
You also need Accessibility so taps move the pointer. Full onboarding is in How to Control Your Mac From Your iPhone. Download the helper from /mac/.
If the stream stays black after permissions are on, follow Remote desktop black screen on Mac.
Use Screen on your iPhone
- Open the Poket PC app. It connects to your paired Mac on its own.
- Tap Screen in the switcher. The Mac’s display fills the phone.
- Tap to click. Drag two fingers to scroll, or drag the strip on the right edge. Hold still, then lift for a right-click. Hold, then drag to move windows and selections. Pinch to zoom the picture on your phone (up to 4×), and drag one finger to move around while zoomed.
The round floating control switches to other views and opens the keyboard; drag it anywhere on the screen. For fine pointer work without mirroring every pixel, switch to Trackpad. For typing, tap the keyboard button in the floating control (text, Return and Delete only in 1.0).
Mirror vs AirPlay vs Poket PC
| AirPlay to TV | Poket PC Screen | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Mac → display | Mac ↔ your iPhone |
| Control Mac | No | Yes (tap, type, Deck, Ask) |
| Away from home | Usually no | Yes, via encrypted relay |
AirPlay still makes sense when you only want a bigger screen. Poket PC fits when the Mac is out of reach, on another network, or you need control—not just video.
Network paths
On the same Wi-Fi, the phone and Mac connect directly. Off network, they meet on Poket PC’s relay. The stream is end-to-end encrypted, so the relay sees metadata such as IP addresses, timing and sizes, but not the screen. No port forwarding or VPN is required. Details are in Access Your Mac Remotely From Anywhere.
What Screen does not do yet
- File transfer or clipboard sync between phone and Mac (planned).
- Second monitor selection (planned).
- A browser as your controller. The web client for Chromium browsers is a preview, and these guides cover the iPhone app.
Version 1.0 is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. The iPhone app is in public TestFlight beta, and its App Store release is in review; see /beta/.
For gestures without video, see Use Your iPhone as a Trackpad for Your Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Can you mirror a MacBook screen to an iPhone?
With Poket PC, you see the Mac's main display live on your iPhone and can tap to click. It is remote desktop streaming, not AirPlay mirroring.
Is this the same as AirPlay?
No. AirPlay sends video one way for watching. Poket PC also sends your taps, scrolls, and typing back to the Mac over an encrypted session.
What resolution and frame rate?
H.264 at 30 fps, on the same Wi-Fi and through the relay alike, main display only, long edge up to 1600 pixels. Multi-monitor support is planned.
Why is my iPhone screen black?
Usually Screen Recording is off for Poket PC. On macOS 15 and later, check Screen & System Audio Recording in Privacy & Security.
Does mirroring include sound?
Not in version 1.0. Host audio over the session is planned.