How to Turn Your iPhone Into a Trackpad or Mouse For Mac

iPhone can be used in several ways, and a mouse/ trackpad is one of them.

By Prajith

| Updated: Friday, December 23, 2016, 18:07 [IST]

Have you ever had a thought of controlling your Mac using your iPhone?

There are a plethora of apps available in the App Store (which we assume some of you may be aware of), which turn your iPhone/ iPad into a wireless remote control for your Mac.

How to Turn Your iPhone Into a Trackpad or Mouse For Mac

Now, some of you may wonder why one would need a separate device (iPhone in this case) to control their Mac when the built-in trackpad already serves the same purpose seamlessly trackpad gestures?

Well, the answer is simple. The ability to control a Mac using an iPhone is not an alternative to the trackpad, but it's a side benefit, which can certainly come in quite handy at times. For instance, while giving a presentation or streaming a movie online, it'd be great if you have the option to control your Mac remotely and these apps do just that.

As mentioned earlier, there are plentiful third-party apps available in the App Store. In this article, we would explain how to setup and control your Mac using iPhone via an app called Remote Mouse.

Why only this app? Because one wouldn't have to miss out on trackpad gestures (after all, a MacBook trackpad is not the same trackpad without the gestures, right?).

So without any delay, let's get started. Here's how you can setup.

1. Download the Remote Mouse app on your iPhone.

2. Download the Mac version of the same app on your MacBook.

3. Install and run the software on your Mac.

4. Open the app on your iPhone.

5. Tap on 'Start' and both your iPhone and Mac will automatically pair, but you should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

6. In case it doesn't connect automatically, enter the IP address of your MAC by tapping on the IP search icon.

7. Voila! Your iPhone is now a trackpad/mouse for your Mac.

The display of the iPhone serves as a trackpad for Mac. Tapping the screen with two fingers (just like you do it on the Mac trackpad) will be considered as a right-click and swiping up and down is considered as scrolling. For some odd reason, if you are not comfortable with these gestures, buttons are always there on the screen to serve the same purpose.

What's more, the app, unlike others doesn't use Bluetooth. Instead, it makes use of the internet to do what it does. What this essentially means is that you won't have to worry about connection drops. You can learn more about the application and its features here.