macOS 26 Tahoe Phone app greatly improves taking calls on your Mac

AppleInsider

Apple has added the Phone app to macOS 26 Tahoe, allowing you to place calls on your iPhone while using your Mac.

The Phone interface in macOS 26 Tahoe - Image Credit: Apple

Apple's Continuity features between the iPhone and Mac were expanded in 2024 with the introduction of iPhone Mirroring in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. However, you couldn't actually place a phone call on your iPhone via the Mac, forcing users to pick up their mobile device.

This is annoying for people who may be familiar with using their Mac for almost everything that their iPhone would be usable for. The lack of phone call support meant that you had no choice but to have the iPhone nearby if you had to actually place or receive them.

With Apple's changes arriving in macOS 26 Tahoe, you won't need to keep your iPhone near you as you work. The addition of the Phone app for macOS will enable users to place calls from their Mac, using their iPhone's connection.

To be clear, this is for an actual phone call from the iPhone, conducted through the Phone app on Mac. Users can already carry out FaceTime calls on a Mac, but this is for the actual phone functionality of the iPhone instead.

The Phone app's list of features mirrors that of the iPhone - Image Credit: Apple

The Phone app offers the same new features as the Phone app on iOS 26, including the brand new view that combines Recents, Favorites, and Voicemails into one screen.

There are also the brand new features, such as Call Screening that answers calls from unknown numbers so you can see whether to actually take the call or not. There's also Hold Assist, so that you don't have to listen to hold music or really pay attention to the call at all while waiting on hold.

As well as the new unified interface, users can also click on the keypad button to make a phone call to a specific phone number, rather than a contact or another recent call.

Inbound calls are notified to the user via a pop-up section in the top right corner of the Mac display, complete with options to answer or hang up. This will also display Contact Posters for the other call participants, if they happen to be available.

The new Phone connectivity also extends to Live Activities, which will appear in the Mac's menu bar. If a user clicks the Live Activity on their Mac, it will open up iPhone Mirroring to show more details on the Mac's screen.

This could be especially helpful for delivery app users, who want to track parcels or food orders as they're on the way. Bringing it up via iPhone Mirroring lets users quickly check the status, without fetching the physical iPhone.

The change certainly brings one of the more elusive features of the iPhone to the Mac. It also gives you less of a reason to physically fiddle around with it at the desk, which could help some users maintain their focus a bit more during a task.



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curtishight

One step closer to a macOS device serving as a first-rate call center. Please!

davgreg

Will this capability extend to the iPad?

brianus

Any time I've ever tried to make a call from my Mac or iPad, not only has the connection been really unreliable and/or with a significant delay, but almost every time the person on the other end complains that I "sound far away", whatever that means. It's basically made it a useless feature for me even though it's now been around for years. Are they ever going to fix the basic usability issues?

escargot

The author of this article is sorely mistaken.  The ability to make (and receive) phone calls on your Mac using your iPhone (yes real phone calls, not FaceTime calls) has been around for more than a decade!!  It launched back in 2014 with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.  That feature has been around so long that they didn't even call it macOS back then.

drs247

It has been possible to initiate a phone call via the Mac since a while now. There are 2 ways of doing it : 
1. Go to the contacts app > open the contact you want to call > click on the phone icon to initiate the call. 

2. Go to FaceTime > search the contact you want to make the call to or type the number in the search bar > hit call. If the number is not linked to FaceTime, the call will be initiated as a regular phone call and not a FaceTime call. 
 

chabig

escargot said:

The author of this article is sorely mistaken.  The ability to make (and receive) phone calls on your Mac using your iPhone (yes real phone calls, not FaceTime calls) has been around for more than a decade!!  It launched back in 2014 with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.  That feature has been around so long that they didn't even call it macOS back then.

DRS247 said:

It has been possible to initiate a phone call via the Mac since a while now. There are 2 ways of doing it : 
1. Go to the contacts app > open the contact you want to call > click on the phone icon to initiate the call. 

2. Go to FaceTime > search the contact you want to make the call to or type the number in the search bar > hit call. If the number is not linked to FaceTime, the call will be initiated as a regular phone call and not a FaceTime call. 
 

What you're both referring to is called Wifi calling, and it's a feature provided by cell phone providers in which your Mac can make a call over the internet as though it's a phone. This new calling feature is an Apple-added continuity feature that relays calls between the Mac and iPhone. It's using the cellular modem of the phone to make the call.

lotones

chabig said:

escargot said:

The author of this article is sorely mistaken.  The ability to make (and receive) phone calls on your Mac using your iPhone (yes real phone calls, not FaceTime calls) has been around for more than a decade!!  It launched back in 2014 with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.  That feature has been around so long that they didn't even call it macOS back then.

DRS247 said:

It has been possible to initiate a phone call via the Mac since a while now. There are 2 ways of doing it : 
1. Go to the contacts app > open the contact you want to call > click on the phone icon to initiate the call. 

2. Go to FaceTime > search the contact you want to make the call to or type the number in the search bar > hit call. If the number is not linked to FaceTime, the call will be initiated as a regular phone call and not a FaceTime call. 
 

What you're both referring to is called Wifi calling, and it's a feature provided by cell phone providers in which your Mac can make a call over the internet as though it's a phone. This new calling feature is an Apple-added continuity feature that relays calls between the Mac and iPhone. It's using the cellular modem of the phone to make the call.

If this is true I may have to stick with wi-fi calling. My cell reception is really bad here at the homestead. Hopefully I can use the Phone app interface for wi-fi calling.

yyzguy

I’m wondering if it would be possible to no longer have a phone, especially considering the phone app also works on iPad with cellular.    I would just ditch my phone completely 

appleinsideruser

So much tosh. WiFi calling is usually separate from making calls via your Mac, which as mentioned is a decade old. 

WiFi calling is great if your cellular (mobile) signal is weak, but you have good WiFi. With or without WiFi calling, but can make and receive calls from your Mac. Method 3 (from above), is to select or hover over a phone number in a document or webpage and choose call. You don’t need to pickup your phone to make calls (it just needs to be nearby). 

NB, there was/is an extension to WiFi calling, that some providers offer, that lets your make calls on other devices. But few providers enable this.

escargot

chabig said:

What you're both referring to is called Wifi calling, and it's a feature provided by cell phone providers in which your Mac can make a call over the internet as though it's a phone. This new calling feature is an Apple-added continuity feature that relays calls between the Mac and iPhone. It's using the cellular modem of the phone to make the call.

Sorry but you’re mistaken. You are conflating two separate tiers of features. Since 2014, it has been possible to make phone calls on your Mac via your iPhone using the cellular modem of the phone to make the call. When you do this, while everything can be initiated via your Mac, and you speak through the Mac, if you were to look at your iPhone screen, you would see that the call is connected there and is functioning like a normal phone call. This feature does not require WiFi calling to be on, or for your carrier to even support Wifi calling. For this feature to work, your iPhone must be nearby, signed into the same Apple Account as your Mac, and on the same WiFi network as your Mac.

There is an enhanced version of this feature, which only works if your Carrier supports “WiFi calling on other devices”. Note that this is separate from supporting just “WiFi calling” full stop. Most carriers support WiFi calling but do not support WiFi calling on other devices. If your carrier does support this feature, then you can make calls via your Mac even when your iPhone isn’t turned on or nearby. But not many carriers support this feature.

All that being said, the ability to make phone calls via your iPhone’s cellular connection on your Mac was introduced as a continuity feature way back in 2014 with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. It does not require WiFi Calling to be on or supported by your carrier.  Again, the author of this article is mistaken and confused about this feature and how it works.

Take it from the source: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/102405

Confirmation of this feature being added in OS X Yosemite: https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/os-x/#phone_calls_and_sms_messages_on_macs

edited June 11