macOS 26, also known as macOS Tahoe, isn’t just another annual update.
This year, Apple has quietly erased some of the biggest walls between iPhone and Mac by bringing over several features that used to be strictly mobile-only.
If you’ve ever wished you could use certain iPhone tools without pulling your phone out of your pocket, Tahoe finally delivers.
Here are the five most useful iPhone-born features you can now run natively on your Mac.
Table of Contents
1. Live Activities in the Mac Menu Bar
Until now, Live Activities were something you checked on an iPhone lock screen or Dynamic Island. With Tahoe, they appear directly in your Mac menu bar.
That means delivery updates, sports scores, rideshare ETAs, timers, and more show up as a small “pill” you can glance at while you work.
Click it, and the view expands to give you more detail. Double-click, and iPhone Mirroring opens the corresponding app on your Mac so you can interact with it without touching your phone.
How to enable it:
- On your Mac, go to System Settings → Notifications → Allow Live Activities from iPhone.
- Make sure both devices are signed into the same Apple ID and have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on.
This setting is essentially turning your Mac into a passive dashboard for whatever your iPhone is tracking.
2. A Full Phone App on macOS
Macs have been able to relay calls from iPhones for years, but the experience was bare-bones.
In Tahoe, there’s now a full-blown Phone app on your Mac, just like the one on your iPhone.
It syncs your Recents, Contacts, and Voicemail automatically, and lets you make or take cellular calls via Wi-Fi calling. More importantly, it brings two of iPhone’s newer call-handling features to macOS:
- Call Screening – unknown callers are prompted to identify themselves, with the transcript appearing live on your screen so you can decide whether to answer.
- Hold Assist – the system stays on the line for you and alerts you when a real person picks up.
Even small touches like Contact Posters (custom images or typography for contacts) now appear on incoming calls.
3. Journal Comes to the Desktop
Apple’s Journal app, first introduced on iPhone in late 2023, has made its way to the Mac for the first time.
It’s designed for private notes, memories, and photo entries, and it syncs smoothly between iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud.
The Mac version isn’t just a copy of the mobile app. You get a resizable sidebar for browsing entries, full keyboard shortcut support, and drag-and-drop for photos and files.
It’s a noticeably better environment for longer writing sessions, but your quick entries from iPhone still appear instantly.
For anyone who’s been keeping a journal on the go, this desktop version turns it into something you can easily maintain and review at your desk.
4. Polls and Group Typing Indicators in Messages
Messages on the Mac has always lagged behind the iPhone version when Apple rolls out chat features.
Tahoe closes the gap by adding poll creation to group chats, the same feature that’s being rolled out in iOS 26 on iPhone this year.
You can set up a question, add options, and let everyone vote without leaving the conversation. Results update in real-time.
Tahoe also adds group typing indicators, so in larger chats you can see exactly who’s mid-message before you fire off your reply.
Both features require all participants to be on macOS Tahoe or iOS 26, but once everyone’s updated, the experience is identical on Mac and iPhone.
5. Live Translation Across Calls and Conversations
Apple Intelligence in Tahoe brings Live Translation to the Mac, matching the iPhone’s real-time language translation during phone calls, FaceTime, and even in some text-based conversations.
If your Mac supports Apple Intelligence, you can have a bilingual conversation where the other person’s speech is transcribed and translated on-screen as they talk.
It works on-device for privacy and can also be triggered via Shortcuts for repeat scenarios.
This is especially useful for business calls or collaborative projects where you’d previously need to be on your iPhone to get full advantage of the feature.
Summary: iOS and macOS Get Closer
These updates continue to blur the line between Mac and iPhone.
For anyone on the fence about the public beta, these are some of the most practical day-to-day improvements Apple’s made in years. When Tahoe rolls out this fall, the divide between your Mac and iPhone will feel smaller than it’s ever been.