iOS 18.4 brings quick Mac setup using a nearby iPhone
Apple’s upcoming iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4 software updates support quick setup for the Mac using a nearby iPhone.
Apple has confirmed this feature as a side-note in its press releases announcing the updated MacBook Air and the refreshed Mac Studio, in which it hinted that the upcoming updates will make it easier than ever to set up a Mac with your iPhone.
“By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords and more” on their new Mac. iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4 are currently in testing and will launch in early April.
iOS 18.4 lets you set up a Mac with your iPhone
This is going to be tremendously helpful when setting up a Mac from scratch. When upgrading from an existing Mac, however, you may want to use Apple’s excellent Migration Assistant tool to set up your Mac from a Time Machine backup or selectively transfer data from your old to the new Mac.
This sounds very similar to the existing feature that lets you set up an Apple TV by bringing your iPhone or iPad within ten to fifteen feet of your Apple TV. Doing so puts up a prompt on the iOS device offering to quickly configure your Apple TV by automatically transferring relevant settings from the iOS device.
Apple’s description mentions this feature in relation to the updated MacBook Air and Mac Studio although the feature shouldn’t require special hardware. That’s because setting up an Apple TV with an iPhone only requires that Bluetooth be enabled on both devices because Bluetooth is used to determine proximity information.
Apple has actually supported this capability since 2013 on old versions of the Bluetooth protocol utilized on old Apple TVs and iPhones, and it looks like it’s finally expanding the feature to Macs.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/03/06/apple-ios-18-4-mac-quick-setup-iphone/
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