

Some of the solutions in this tutorial require Bluetooth low energy which means that they don’t work with older devices. It even allows multiple devices to connect–up to eight–so you can have a Mac connected to an Apple Wireless Keyboard, a Magic Mouse, an iPhone, a pair of Bluetooth headphones and still have options! Bluetooth Low Energy and Supported Devicesīluetooth has been available on the iPhone since the first generation, though it used an older version of the protocol.


It, however, uses a number of clever tricks to ensure that different devices won’t interfere with each other. This is how your Macbook connects automatically to your Magic Mouse when you bring it near.īluetooth operates in a fairly heavily used part of the radio spectrum. The next time you bring those two devices close, they will automatically connect. When two devices are in range of each other it is possible to pair them so that they connect automatically in the future. Earlier implementations of Bluetooth required more power and could drain batteries if left enabled all day. The current Bluetooth protocol used in modern Apple devices–Bluetooth low energy–allows devices to connect over Bluetooth with minimal impact on battery life. Each device has a maximum range of around 10 metres (30 feet).

Bluetooth Explainedīluetooth is a method for wirelessly sending data between different devices and it is used in many modern computers and phones. Bluetooth connects a Mac to a Magic Mouse or an Apple Wireless Keyboard it connects an iPhone to a handsfree car system and–the focus of this tutorial–a Mac to an iPhone.īluetooth works via low-powered radio waves from between devices. In this tutorial, I’ll explain what Bluetooth is, how to use it and show you a few practical uses of Bluetooth to wirelessly connect a Mac and an iPhone. As long as you leave Bluetooth enabled on both your devices, they’ll automatically connect whenever they’re in range of each other. If you want to wirelessly connect your iPhone to your Mac, Bluetooth is one of the easiest ways to do it. Bluetooth has been around since before the days of feature phones, having been developed in the 1990s, and it has come a long way from just being used in oversized handsfree earpieces.
