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

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...

Top Rated Comments

Premium1 Avatar
39 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
39 months ago
So, this is the Studio Display update...
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markfc Avatar
39 months ago
tvOS needs this so i can FaceTime from the TV.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cognizant. Avatar
39 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
39 months ago
Aka..we are sorry for Studio Display’s webcam, hope this helps.

Luls
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danfango Avatar
39 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)