Handoff

How to add Continuity features to older Macs

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Most of our readers will be familiar by now with Apple's Continuity suite, a slew of features which were introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. These features include Instant Hotspot, a new AirDrop, SMS/Phone calls from Mac, and Handoff. With macOS Sierra and iOS 10, they added Auto Unlock and Universal Clipboard to the group.

The catch is of course that making use of these features requires certain hardware. Therefore, Macs from before about 2010/11 appear not to support some or all of the new functionality. However, it turns out there is a way to enable Continuity on your older hardware. In this guide we'll go through how to do it.

Chrome Handoff: a new tweak that enables Handoff for Chrome

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 10, 2019

Google Chrome fans that enjoy using Handoff to create a seamless experience between their iOS device and their Mac have been long disappointed in the third-party web browser's inability to support such a feature.

Fortunately, those sporting a device with a jailbreak can now take advantage of a new free jailbreak tweak called Chrome Handoff, which will enable Handoff for Chrome between your iOS device(s) and Mac. In this piece, we'll show you how it works!

Troubleshooting Continuity issues on iOS and Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 22, 2020

Continuity and Handoff are features built into your iOS devices and Macs that allow the devices to work more seamlessly together. With Continuity, you have instant access to a personal hotspot on demand, the ability to send and receive SMS messages and to make and take phone calls from your Mac, and the ability to pick up where you left off on one device from another.

Although they can work well at times, there is always the lingering chance that the functionality may not work right for you or connectivity may be flaky. In this piece, we'll go over several troubleshooting steps you can take if your Continuity and Handoff experience isn't going as expected.

Readdle updates PDF Expert with Handoff support and other enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2016

Readdle, the Ukrainian developer of fine productivity software, has refreshed its PDF management and annotation app, PDF Expert for OS X and PDF Expert for iOS, with support for Apple's Handoff technology.

With Handoff, PDF Expert users can start editing a PDF document on their iPhone or iPad and then continue right where they left off on their Mac, and vice versa.

In addition, today's update includes half a dozen enhancements like the ability to select part of a document and crop or copy it.

Apple releases OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

Following an extensive testing, Apple on Tuesday released OS X 10.11.2 (build number 15C50), the second major update to El Capitan, for public consumption. In addition to improving the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, OS X 10.11.2 improves iCloud Photo Sharing for Live Photos, as well as the reliability of Wi-Fi networking, Handoff and AirDrop.

Moreover, the software update includes fixes for Bluetooth devices disconnecting on a whim, the Mail app deleting messages in an offline Exchange account and problems with importing photos from an iPhone to a Mac using a USB cable.

How to enable or disable Handoff on Apple Watch

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 2, 2023

Learn how to use Handoff on your Apple Watch to move what you're doing on your wrist to the bigger screen of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

How to use Handoff to move between Apple Watch and iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 22, 2015

Handoff—a feature that allows you to quickly move between devices and pickup right where you left off—first appeared with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. It allowed you to seamlessly move between an iPhone and an iPad, and iPhone and a Mac, Mac and an iPad, etc.

Unsurprisingly, Handoff is now available on the small screen with Apple Watch. It will allow you to do things like check email on Apple Watch, and seamlessly switch to your iPhone to has out a reply. Have a look at our tutorial inside for a walkthrough on how it works.

Meet Flow, Samsung’s cool take on Apple’s Continuity and Handoff features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 have brought out a set of features dubbed Continuity which allow users to easily transition between their Macs and iOS devices without skipping a beat. Now Samsung has responded with a feature of its own.

They're calling it Flow and it's pretty cool. With Flow, you can change devices in the midst of an activity or pause an activity until you're ready.

Now available in beta as a free download from the Google Play Store, Flow currently supports select Samsung tablets and smartphones: the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Note 4, Note Edge and the Galaxy Tab S.

Foursquare for iOS enables Handoff with Mac, brings Citymapper directions

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 1, 2015

Foursquare, the world's top crowd-sourced local search and discovery service and mobile app, has pushed a refresh to its iPhone and iPad places-discovery application available at no cost in the App Store.

Among other new features, Foursquar 8.1 enables Handoff support between iOS and the Mac and lets you easily access Citymapper from the app. For those wondering, Citymapper is a fast-growing, real-time transit service available on the iPhone and coming to the Apple Watch next month.

Continuity Keypad adds a beautiful phone dialer to OS X Yosemite

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Out of all the features that Apple introduced with OS X Yosemite, Continuity is one of the most convenient and useful. With its ability to handoff apps between devices, make and receive phone calls, and send SMS messages from the desktop, Continuity has become one of the most-used features of OS X Yosemite. But despite its newfound call-handling features, Yosemite lacks a dialer for quickly making phone calls to numbers not in your address book, and that's where Continuity Keypad comes into play.

Apps like Pocket is why Handoff is my top new feature in iOS 8 and Yosemite

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 28, 2014

Pocket, a read-later service, with a recent Mac app update has completed its support for Apple's refreshed mobile and desktop operating systems.

According to developers last week, Pocket for Mac now includes Handoff and can send stuff to other apps that use the Mac's new multi-purpose Share menu. It's Pocket's largest Mac update in over a year.

The iOS edition of Pocket has had Handoff support in place for weeks. And with Handoff now live in the Mac edition of Pocket, I'm not sure how I've managed to do without such a useful feature. I'm a huge, huge Pocket fan and use it every day to bookmark and save dozens of articles that I find during the day for later reading.

With Handoff implemented in both Pocket editions, I now am able to seamlessly continue reading an article right where I left off on any of my Apple devices (Bluetooth must be enabled).

It's awesome and I couldn't imagine my daily computing without Handoff. It's the one feature I use the most, all the time. As I constantly move between my mobile and desktop devices, Handoff removes the friction completely without the mental burden of having to remember where I left off.

Handoff is tremendously convenient. It's fun, easy to use, a time-saver and bridges the gap between desktop and mobile like no other technology before it. And it's only getting started.

Pocket for Mac is available free of charge in the Mac App Store.

How to use Handoff in OS X Yosemite

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated November 1, 2014

Handoff is one of the flagship features for both iOS and OS X. It allows you to seamlessly continue working where you left off on another device.

In this video tutorial, I'll walk you through making sure that Handoff is enabled for your device, and show you how it can be used. Step inside to learn more.