macOS 13 Ventura Lets You Use Your iPhone's Camera as a Webcam

As part of its macOS 13 Ventura presentation at WWDC 2022, Apple today announced Continuity Camera, which gives Mac owners the ability to use their iPhone as a webcam.

Apple WWDC22 macOS Ventura Continuity Camera lifestyle 220606 big
A Mac running macOS 13 can automatically recognize and use the camera on an ‌iPhone‌ when it is nearby, without the need to wake or select it, and the ‌iPhone‌ can also connect to the Mac wirelessly.

Continuity Camera includes FaceTime features like Center Stage, Portrait mode, and a new Studio Light effect that illuminates a user's face while dimming the background.

In addition, Continuity Camera uses the Ultra Wide camera on an ‌iPhone‌ to enable Desk View, which simultaneously shows the user's face and an overhead view of their desk, which is useful for creating DIY videos, showing off sketches over ‌FaceTime‌, and more.

Continuity Camera is available on ‌iPhone‌ XR or later models. Using Continuity Camera wirelessly requires a Mac and an ‌iPhone‌ or iPad with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, and both devices must be signed in to the same Apple ID with two-factor authentication.

Continuity Camera with Center Stage and Desk View is available on ‌iPhone‌ 11 or later running iOS 16. Studio Light is available on ‌iPhone‌ 12 or later running iOS 16.

For all the other details and new features in macOS 13 Ventura, see our dedicated article.

Related Forum: macOS Ventura

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
iphone 17 pro concept render cameras

Major iPhone 17 Pro Redesign Backed by Supply Chain Info, Claims Leaker

Thursday December 12, 2024 4:36 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 Pro models will reportedly feature a major redesign, specifically centering around changes to the rear camera module, and now new supply chain information appears to confirm the striking change, according to a Chinese leaker. iPhone 17 Pro concept render Late last month, The Information's Wayne Ma claimed that the rear of the ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro...
m4 mac mini hands on

Cloud-Based M4 and M4 Pro Mac Mini Models Now Available

Wednesday December 11, 2024 7:34 am PST by
Developers now have access to cloud-based M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini units via MacWeb, a Silicon Valley-based provider of cloud services. The company has launched three configurations of the new Mac mini, powered by Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips. Developers and IT teams can rent these machines for tasks ranging from basic development to advanced artificial intelligence modeling, providing an...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
macbook air m2 13 inch

macOS Sequoia 15.2 Confirms New M4 MacBook Air Models Are Coming

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:54 am PST by
Apple today made a mistake with its macOS Sequoia 15.2 update, releasing the software for two Macs that have yet to be launched. There is a software file for "Mac16,12" and "Mac16,13," which are upcoming MacBook Air models. The leaked software references the "MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)" and the "MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)," confirming that new M4 MacBook Air models are in...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 With Genmoji, Image Playground, Siri ChatGPT and More

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:03 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, the second major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates that came out in September. The new updates come over a month after Apple released iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...

Top Rated Comments

Premium1 Avatar
33 months ago
Apple- "we won't upgrade the crappy cameras in macs, so use your phone instead"
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
33 months ago
So, this is the Studio Display update...
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markfc Avatar
33 months ago
tvOS needs this so i can FaceTime from the TV.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cognizant. Avatar
33 months ago

This is a really puzzling feature. Is this them admitting that the Mac cameras aren’t great?
No, it isn’t. There are no laptop cameras on earth that would even remotely compare to this. People hook up full on DSLRs to their computer to use as a streaming cam. Why this puzzles some of you is beyond me. This allows for extremely high quality webcam streaming.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bleighv Avatar
33 months ago
Aka..we are sorry for Studio Display’s webcam, hope this helps.

Luls
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danfango Avatar
33 months ago
That's so going to crack a screen. How about stopping shipping ****** cameras in the computers.

Edit: this actually has a similar level of quality as truck nuts.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)