With a little help from iPhone, your Mac will soon be able to double up as a high-powered magnifying glass, thanks to a new feature coming in macOS 16 later this year. Apple just announced that its next major software update will introduce Magnifier for Mac, letting you harness your iPhone's camera to see the world in greater detail.
This clever accessibility upgrade sounds as though it could transform how users with low vision interact with physical objects. By hooking up your iPhone through Apple's Continuity Camera system, a Mac can become a tool for closely examining whiteboards across the room or tiny text on printed documents.
The new feature promises several multitasking capabilities. Users can create multiple live session windows, meaning you could track a lecturer's presentation with one camera while zooming in on your textbook with another. Each view can be tweaked with custom brightness, contrast and color filters to suit individual vision needs – just like Magnifier on iPhone.
Apple is pitching the new feature as a natural evolution of the iPhone and iPad Magnifier app, which has been helping users zoom, detect objects, and read text since 2016. But the macOS version is set to take advantage of the Mac's larger screen (plus any external monitors you may be using) and processing power.
The Magnifier announcement comes alongside several other accessibility improvements coming later this year, including App Store "Nutrition Labels" for accessibility features, Braille Access for note-taking, and Apple Watch-based Live Captions.
Expect these features when macOS 16 drops this fall, likely following Apple's customary September release schedule. For complete details, check out Apple's full press release published earlier today.
