Apperture
Big apps on small screens.
Apperture lets you view and interact with apps running on your own Mac from your iPhone or iPad.
It's like a traditional remote desktop client, except that instead of viewing your entire Mac desktop, you are viewing and interacting with a single running app.
Prompt the Mac. Watch the Simulator.
Leave Xcode, Simulator, and your favorite AI chatbot or coding agent running on your Mac at home. When an idea hits, dictate the change from your phone, let the assistant edit and build on the Mac, then inspect the result in Apperture.
Your Mac still does the work. Apperture gives you the focused phone view: the Simulator, an Xcode preview, or the app window you actually need to check.
- Dictate the change
- Send a prompt to the AI tool already running on your Mac.
- Let the Mac build
- Xcode, Simulator, package installs, and local services stay at home.
- Check the result
- Switch Apperture to the Simulator or preview window and review it from your phone.
FAQ
Getting started
How is this different from Screens, Jump Desktop, or macOS Screen Sharing?
Those tools mirror your entire desktop, which means panning around a 27-inch display crammed onto a 6-inch screen. Apperture mirrors one app. The window you pick fills your iPhone or iPad like it's running there natively — no pinching, no panning, no hunting for the cursor.
Does Apperture run Mac apps on my iPhone? (Hi App Review 👋)
No. Your Mac does all the work. The iOS app is a viewer and controller — it shows you the app's window and sends your taps and keystrokes back to your Mac.
Do I need both apps?
Yes. The Mac host and the iOS client are a pair: the host captures and streams the app you choose, and the iOS app views and controls it. They have to be paired with each other before they'll connect.
Why isn't the Mac app in the Mac App Store?
It needs Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions that sandboxed App Store apps aren't allowed to use. The host is notarized by Apple and keeps itself up to date automatically via Sparkle.
Why does it ask for Screen Recording, Accessibility, Camera, and Local Network permissions?
Each permission does exactly one job. Screen Recording captures the window you chose to share. Accessibility delivers the taps and keystrokes you make on your device. Camera scans the pairing QR code. Local Network finds your Mac. None of them are used for anything else.
Connectivity
Can I use it away from home?
Only over a private network — there is deliberately no cloud relay, so your screen never touches anyone else's servers. On the road, run a VPN back to your Mac. Tailscale is free and is the recommended path.
Why won't my iPhone or iPad connect?
Run down this list: Are both devices on the same network (or the same Tailscale tailnet)? Is your Mac awake with the host app running? Does the iOS app have Local Network permission? If you're remote, is the VPN up on both ends?
Does my Mac need to stay awake or unlocked?
Awake, yes — if your Mac sleeps, the stream stops until it wakes. If the Mac is locked, Apperture detects it and tells you on your device rather than showing a frozen frame.
If you host often, tell your Mac not to sleep while plugged in (System Settings → Displays → Advanced, or Energy settings on desktops).
What happens if the connection drops?
Apperture reconnects automatically. Stream quality adapts to the bandwidth available, so it keeps working on slower links — including cellular over a VPN.
Security
Is my screen data going through your servers?
No. The connection is peer-to-peer on your private network and encrypted per session. There is no cloud component at all. The security page has the full picture.
How does pairing work, and can I revoke a device?
Pairing uses a QR code that is single-use and expires after 2 minutes, and the Mac's owner has to approve the new device. Either side can revoke the pairing at any time. Trust is stored in each device's Keychain and never syncs through iCloud.
What do you log or collect?
The Mac keeps a local 30-day session history: which device connected, when, and which app names were viewed. Never keystrokes, never frames, never window contents. Analytics exclude all content as well.
Usage
Can I view the iOS Simulator?
Yes — and it's special-cased. Rotation follows your device and touches map natively, so the Simulator feels like a real device in your hand instead of a window you're poking at remotely.
Can I type, use menus, and copy-paste?
Yes to all three. The keyboard sends real input, the Mac app's actual menu bar is exposed as a searchable touch UI, and clipboard text transfers encrypted between devices.
Can I see more than one window, or the whole desktop?
One selected window at a time, by design — that's what makes the phone experience work. Known limitation worth being upfront about: secondary windows and dialogs an app opens may not appear in the stream yet.
What does Pro cost?
The Mac host is free. Apperture Pro is purchased inside the iPhone app. During launch, there is a one-time early-adopter lifetime unlock with no subscription. After the launch offer, Pro changes to yearly subscriptions.
What about iPad?
Supported today. The iOS app runs on iPad, and the extra screen real estate makes it a great way to view your Mac apps.