With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. iPhone owners can use it for SMS and MMS messages, too.
Set up iMessage
Mac App Store is the simplest way to find and download apps for your Mac. To download apps from the Mac App Store, you need a Mac with OS X 10.6.6 or later. Open the Shortcuts app, go to the My Shortcuts tab, and tap App Icon Downloader to run the shortcut. Now enter the name of the app (Hint: Try ReadKit, which has a lovely icon on the Mac App Store). Select the device — iPhone, iPad, or Mac — from the list. For ReadKit, select Mac. Tap the name of the app from the search results in the pop-up. Moving apps around on your iPhone allows you to replace apps you don’t normally use with your favorite apps you use the most. You can move apps around using your finger on the iPhone’s Home screen, or use an app called Configurator 2 to arrange your iPhone or iPad home screen on a Mac. Generally this means that you have to re-download those apps on your iPhone or iPad before you can use them. Same is true for Mac apps. In some cases you may see deleted app icons on your device because apps data remains in the device, so that you can re-download easily whenever you need those apps. To run an iPhone app on an older Intel-based Mac, you need to use an emulator like Xcode. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.
iMessage is the Apple messaging service you get automatically with your Apple ID.If it's not already set up, you're asked to sign in when you first open the Messages app. Sign in with same Apple ID that you use with Messages on your iPhone and other devices. It's usually the same Apple ID that you use for iCloud, the iTunes Store, the App Store, and the account you created when you first set up your Mac.
Have a conversation
- Click at the top of the Messages window.
- Address your message by typing the recipient's name, email address, or phone number. Or click and choose a recipient. If they're in your Contacts app, Messages finds them as you type. To start a group conversation, just add more recipients.
- Type your message in the field at the bottom of the window, then press Return to send it.
- To include emoji, click.
- To include an image or other file, just drag or paste it into the message field. Or use Continuity Camera to capture a photo or scan directly from your iPhone or iPad camera.
- To include an audio recording, clickand record your message.
- After starting a conversation, click Details in the corner of the window to take other actions, including:
- Choose not to be disturbed by notifications about this conversation.
- Use FaceTime to start an audio call or video call .
- Share a screen .
- See the recipient's location—if they're sharing their location with you.
- Review all of the photos and files that were exchanged in the conversation.
- Add a group name, add members to a group, or leave a group. If the group has four or more members, you can remove members: Control-click the member's name, then choose Remove from Conversation.
With macOS Sierra or later, you can also use Siri to send, read, and reply to Messages:
- ”Send a message to Susan and Johnny saying I'll be late' or ”Tell Johnny Appleseed the show is about to start” or ”Text a message to 408 555 1212.”
- ”Read the last message from Brian Park” or ”Read my new messages.”
- ”Reply that's great news” or ”Tell him I'll be there in 10 minutes.”
Add a Tapback to a message
macOS Sierra introduces Tapback to the Mac. A Tapback is a quick response that expresses what you think about a message, such as that you like it or think it's funny. In the image above, the heart next to ”See you then!' is a Tapback. Here's how to do it:
- Control-click a message bubble to open a shortcut menu.
- Choose Tapback from the menu.
- Click a Tapback to add it to the message bubble.
Your Tapback is visible to everyone in the conversation who is using iMessage with macOS Sierra or later or iOS 10 or later. Other iMessage users see 'Liked' or 'Laughed at' or 'Emphasized,' for example, followed by the text of that message.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch also have Tapback, as well as other message effects available only on those devices. Most such affects look the same on your Mac when you receive them. Others appear as a description of the effect, such as ”(sent with Loud Effect).”
Send text messages to anyone from your Mac
If you have an iPhone with a text messaging plan, learn how to set up text message forwarding so you can send and receive SMS and MMS messages from your Mac.
How to hide app updates on mac.
How to hide app updates on mac.
Delete a message or conversation
When you permanently delete a message or conversation, you can't get it back. So make sure that you save important information from your messages.
To delete a message:
- Open a message conversation.
- Control-click the blank area of a message bubble that you want to delete.
- Choose Delete.
- Click Delete.
To delete a conversation:
- Control-click a conversation.
- Choose Delete Conversation.
- Click Delete.
Learn more
- To learn more about Messages, choose Messages Help from the Help menu in Messages.
- If you get an error when trying to sign in to iMessage, learn what to do.
FaceTime is not available in all countries or regions.
© Crystal Cox/Business Insider You'll be able to run iPhone apps on the coming Mac computers. Crystal Cox/Business Insider Install Iphone Apps On Mac
- You can't run iPhone apps on a Mac computer without using an emulator, though that will change with a new generation of Macs, set to come out by the end of 2020.
- The new Macs will run on Apple's own chipsets that are similar to what's found in iOS devices.
- To run an iPhone app on an older Intel-based Mac, you need to use an emulator like Xcode.
- Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.
Your Mac isn't generally able to run apps from your iPhone. iOS apps are designed using a fundamentally different architecture than Mac software, which means they're incompatible – Mac programs can't run on iPhones, and iPhone apps can't run on Macs.
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You'll soon be able to run iPhone apps on some Mac models
That's about to change, though. In an Apple developer conference earlier this year, Apple announced that it was going to stop building Macs with Intel-based CPUs. In its place, Apple is creating its own chipset in much the same way it already does for iPhones, iPads, and other iOS and mobile devices. When this happens, the new Macs will share a similar architecture to iOS devices and will be able to natively run iPhone apps.
Apple has designed its own ARM-based processors for iPhone and iPad devices for years. ARM chipsets use a design approach called reduced instruction set computing (RISC) which is generally more efficient and uses less power than traditional desktop processors, such as those made by Intel. Apple has had great success developing ARM chipsets for its mobile devices and the latest generation now offers enough performance for desktop devices like laptops. Starting late in 2020, Apple should be releasing Mac computers with these ARM-based chips.
Because these Macs will have an architecture that's so similar to iOS devices, Apple has announced that they can natively run iPhone apps with no further changes or modifications. You'll be able to install iOS apps directly from the Mac's app store.
© OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images With the new generation of Macs, you'll be able to get all of your iPhone apps on your computer as well. OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images The timing is uncertain, but the new Macs running Apple chips are expected to come out before the end of the year. As a result, both Intel chipset and Apple chipset Macs will be around for quite some time, and only the ones with Apple chipsets will be able to run iPhone apps. This might be a little confusing until most Intel-based Macs have been retired. Mac deleted app still appears in launchpad.
Manage Iphone Apps On Mac
Running iPhone apps on a Mac with an emulator
New, iPhone-app-compatible Macs may be coming soon, but that's not the entire story. Because software developers need to be able to test iPhone apps quickly and easily, they sometimes use emulator software to run iPhone apps on Macs.
There are a handful of emulators available for Mac that can run iPhone apps, but keep in mind that these are not intended for casual users. These programs are not easy to install or manage, and generally require developer knowledge to use them successfully. In addition, it's generally not possible to install apps from the Apple App Store; you're limited to apps stored on the Mac. One of the most common iPhone emulators is Apple's own Xcode.