This handy feature is called, in Apple jargon, the Universal Clipboard.
Over the years, Apple has strived to create an entire ecosystem around its devices. Having a headed device is good, but having the full range is better. Indeed, this allows us to have access to a whole host of very practical features that Apple has made totally exclusive to its products. Take for example the Universal Control (which allows you to control an iPad and a Mac with a single mouse), or Handoff, which consists of starting a task on an iPhone to finish it on your iPad or Mac.
The feature that interests us today is the universal clipboard. You know without a shadow of a doubt the clipboard, present on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, which allows you to copy a text or a file and paste it elsewhere in the machine. But the small particularity brought by the Apple ecosystem is the “universal clipboard”. Very concretely, this means that a text copied on an iPhone can very quickly be pasted on a Mac or an iPad, and vice versa.
A photo, a piece of text or even a file, practically all of the elements that can be copied benefit from the universal clipboard. First of all, it is necessary to activate Handoff on all your devices. Indeed, the clipboard is directly included in the options provided by Handoff. To enable it on Mac, choose the apple menu and go in System Preferences. Then select the menu Generalthen enable Allow Handoff Between This Mac and Your iCloud Devices. On an iOS device, just go to the tab General settings, then AirPlay et Handoff.
What devices support Universal Clipboard?
As always with Apple (and the majority of smartphone brands), certain features are reserved for only a handful of devices, or at least only the most recent ones. The universal clipboard is obviously no exception to the rule, and only devices with iOS 10, macOS Sierra or a more recent version of the OS are concerned.
- iPhone 5 or later
- All iPad Air and iPad Pro
- iPad 4th generation or later
- iPad mini 2nd generation or later
- iPod Touch 6th Generation
- MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or iMac from 2012 or later
- 2013 or later Mac Pro
- 2015 MacBook or later
- iMac Pro
- Mac Studio
How to take advantage of Universal Clipboard?
The procedure is therefore very simple. Check that all your devices are connected to the same Apple ID and that Bluetooth and WiFi are turned on. Then, copy for example a text on your Mac, then, in a free area on your iPhone, “paste”. After a loading time depending on the size of the pasteable element, your device will reproduce what was previously pasted.
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