Forget AirDrop, iOS 18.1 offers a better way to share files with your Mac

Ryan
Haines
/
Android
Authority

TL;DR

The
fifth
developer
betas
of
iOS
18.1
and
macOS
Sequoia
15.1
enable
users
to
drag
and
drop
files
between
their
devices
using
the
iPhone
Mirroring
app.
iOS
18.1
beta
5
also
includes
improvements
to
the
Control
Center
and
Camera
Control
button.
iOS
18.1
and
its
Apple
Intelligence
features
will
become
available
to
the
public
next
month.

iOS
18.1
beta
5
and
its
macOS
counterpart
are
now
available
to
members
of
Apple’s
developer
program.
These
updates
finally
enable
drag-and-drop
support
in
the
iPhone
Mirroring
app,
which
Apple
first
previewed
during
WWDC24.
Thanks
to
this
change,
beta
testers
can
now
easily
transfer
files
between
their
iPhones
and
Macs
without
relying
on
AirDrop,
wires,
or
cloud
solutions.

If
you’re
running
the
latest
iOS
18.1
and
macOS
Sequoia
15.1
developer
betas,
you
can
start
using
the
feature
right
away.
Simply
launch
the
iPhone
Mirroring
app
on
your
Mac,
then
drag
any
supported
file
from
the
virtual
iPhone
to
macOS
or
vice
versa.
This
is
ideal
for
users
shooting
RAW
footage
with
their
iPhones
and
editing
on
macOS,
as
it
spares
them
from
transferring
large
files
manually.

Otherwise,
iOS
18.1
beta
5
adds
a
new
Reset
Control
Center
button
in
the
Settings
app.
This
allows
users
to
restore
the
default
layout,
as
iOS
18
makes
the
Control
Center
highly
customizable,
and
things
could
get
out
of
hand.

Lastly,
iOS
18.1
beta
5
enables
users
to
switch
to
the
front-facing
lens
using
the
Camera
Control
button.
The
new
toggle
can
be
found
when
swiping
between
the
different
zoom
options
(0.5x,
1x,
2x,
and
5x),
allowing
you
to
take
a
selfie
without
touching
your

iPhone
16‘s
display.

iOS
18.1
is
the
first
major
update
to

iOS
18,
packing
the
initial
batch
of
Apple
Intelligence
features
and
a
slew
of
other
welcome
changes.
It’s
currently
available
to
beta
testers,
with
the
stable
release
scheduled
for
next
month.