Skip to main content

How to use Continuity Camera

Using Continuity Camera in Pages on a MacBook.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Continuity features on your Apple devices make tasks easier than ever.

You no longer have to send yourself photos or documents from your mobile device to work with them on MacOS. Using the Continuity Camera, you can capture photos or scan documents on your iPhone or iPad and have them appear immediately on your Mac.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Mac computer

  • iPhone or iPad

Continuity Camera requirements and supported apps

You can use Continuity Camera as long as your Mac and iPhone or iPad meet the following requirements.

  • The devices have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on and are near each other.
  • You use iCloud and both devices are signed into it using the same Apple ID with two-factor authentication.
  • The Mac is running MacOS Mojave or later.
  • The iPhone is using iOS 14 or later.
  • The iPad is using iPadOS 14 or later.

In addition, use one or more of the below Mac apps that support Continuity Camera.

  • Finder
  • Mail
  • Messages
  • Notes
  • TextEdit
  • Pages 7.2 or later
  • Numbers 5.2 or later
  • Keynote 8.2 or later

Take a photo with Continuity Camera

Open one of the above supported applications on your Mac or choose a location on your desktop to add the photo. Be sure you have your iPhone or iPad handy.

Step 1: Do one of the following to prompt the Continuity Camera, depending on the application you’re using:

  • Right-click or hold Control and click the spot in the application or on your desktop where you want the photo. Select Insert from iPhone or iPad > Take Photo.
  • Go to File or Insert in the menu bar and select Insert/Import from iPhone or iPad > Take Photo.
  • Select the Media button the toolbar and pick Take Photo.
  • In Finder, click the Action button in the toolbar and choose Insert from iPhone or iPad > Take Photo.
how to use continuity camera mac pages take photo iphone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: You’ll see your iPhone or iPad screen open to the Camera app ready for you to take the photo. You can use the front facing camera or adjust the flash if necessary. Tap the capture button to snap your picture.

Step 3: If you’re happy with the photo, select Use Photo. You can also tap Retake to recapture the photo.

Step 4: The photo will then appear on your Mac in the application or location you selected.

how to use continuity camera mac pages took photo iphone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Scan a document with Continuity Camera

You can also use Continuity Camera to scan a document and then immediately work with it on your Mac. Like above, open the application or choose the location on your desktop for the scanned image.

Step 1: Do one of the following to prompt the Continuity Camera:

  • Right-click or hold Control and click the spot in the application or on your desktop where you want the photo. Select Insert from iPhone or iPad > Scan Documents.
  • Go to File or Insert in the menu bar and select Insert/Import from iPhone or iPad > Scan Documents.
  • Select the Media button the toolbar and pick Scan Documents.
  • In Finder, click the Action button in the toolbar and choose Insert from iPhone or iPad > Scan Documents.
how to use continuity camera mac pages scan documents iphone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: When your iPhone or iPad screen opens to the Camera, place the document you want to scan in the frame.

Allow the app to scan the document automatically or tap the Capture button to scan it manually. Drag the corners or edges to fit the scan to the page or apply a filter if you like.

Step 3: When you’re done, you can scan additional documents or pages or tap Save to finish.

Step 4: The scanned document will appear on your Mac in the application or location you selected.

how to use continuity camera mac pages scanned document iphone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Popping photos you snap or documents you scan with your iPhone or iPad directly onto your Mac makes things just that much simpler.

Remember to check out other continuity features such as AirPlay for sending audio or video to other devices or Continuity Markup and Sketch for annotating or drawing between devices.

Sandy Writtenhouse
Sandy has been writing about technology since 2012. Her work has appeared on How-To Geek, Lifewire, MakeUseOf, iDownloadBlog…
Best Buy’s Apple Sales Event: This weekend’s best deals on iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, and more
The iPhone 14 Plus's camera module.

Apple fans, here's your chance at rare discounts on the brand's devices: Best Buy just launched a huge Apple Sales Event. With iPhone deals, iPad deals, MacBook deals, AirPods deals, and more up for grabs, you better hurry in choosing what to purchase because we think stocks are already flying off the shelves.

You can take a look at everything that's available in Best Buy's Apple Sales Event through the link below, but we've also rounded up our favorite offers to help you make a quick decision. It's important that you don't take up too much time in selecting where to spend your money, as every second wasted is one step closer to missing out on the offer you've got your eyes on.

Read more
Apple’s foldable device has me worried about this one key problem
The Zenbook Fold 17 open on a table.

I’m a lover of mechanical keyboards, so ever since I learned that Apple is supposedly working on a foldable tablet-slash-laptop, there was one concern that piqued my interest above all others: what will it be like to type on?

After all, we know that Apple is at least considering a device like this. The company was recently granted a new patent detailing just such a product, and a slew of reliable leakers and supply chain analysts have exposed Apple’s plans in remarkable detail.

Read more
Macs finally get a taste of an overhauled Mail app
Categories in Apple Mail app for iPad and Mac.

Apple redesigned the Mail app on iPhones with the release of iOS 18.2 update back in December, but strangely skipped the treatment for iPads and Macs. The company has finally made a course correction with the macOS 15.4 and iPad OS 18.4 developer beta updates, which are now available for testers.

The biggest change introduced by the new Mail app are categories. All your emails are now neatly slotted across four categories. Here’s a brief breakdown of how it works:

Read more