No more blurry FaceTime Calls! Use your iPhone as a webcam on Mac this way

iPhone cameras are considered to be the best in the business. Be it portrait photography, video recording or even low-light photography, the iPhone camera stands head and shoulders above the rest. From 2MP cameras on expensive smartphones back in the day to 50MP cameras even in the budget smartphones today, the technological leap has been massive. However, if you’ve ever conducted a FaceTime call on your Mac, you'd know that its camera is nowhere near the quality offered on iPhones. This makes video calls on your MacBook a blurry mess.

However, Apple has come up with an innovative, and frankly, a genius solution. The feature is called Continuity Camera. With Continuity Camera, you can use your iPhone as your Mac webcam or microphone and take advantage of the powerful iPhone camera and additional video effects. You can connect wirelessly or with a USB cable for a wired connection. Therefore, you get Apple’s studio level video quality on your Mac, depending on the iPhone you have.

It also allows you to use various effects such as Center Stage, Studio Light, Portrait mode, and Desk View, as well as different mic modes for your iPhone mic. Here’s how you can enable Continuity Camera.

How to enable Continuity Camera

Step 1: 

Ensure that you have the latest MacOS installed on your Mac and the same Apple ID is signed in on both the devices.

Step 2: 

On your Mac, open any app that has access to the camera or microphone, like FaceTime or Photo Booth.

Step 3: 

In the app’s menu bar or settings, choose your iPhone as the camera or microphone.

Step 4: 

The Continuity app opens on your iPhone and begins capturing audio or video from the rear camera.

Step 5: 

In order to use your iPhone as a microphone on a Mac without a built-in camera, the iPhone must be in landscape orientation, stationary and locked.

Controls for Continuity Camera

1. Pause the video or audio - On your iPhone, tap Pause or swipe up to unlock it.

2. Resume the video or audio - On your iPhone, tap Resume or press the side button or Sleep/Wake button to lock it.

3. Stop using your iPhone as a webcam or microphone - On your Mac, quit the app.

4. Remove your iPhone as an option - On your iPhone, tap Disconnect. Your iPhone is removed from the camera and microphone lists in apps, and also from the list of sound input devices in Sound settings.