macOS Tahoe Brings Two iPhone Apps to Your Mac

by

The upcoming macOS Tahoe update adds three pre-installed Apple apps to all compatible Macs: Phone, Journal, and Games.

macos tahoe design
Phone and Journal come from the iPhone, while Games is entirely new. Below, we provide an overview of each of these apps.

macOS Tahoe is currently available as a developer beta, and the update will likely be released to the general public in September.

Phone

macOS Tahoe Phone App
Macs could already answer iPhone calls thanks to Apple's cross-platform Continuity features, but macOS Tahoe goes a step further.

Apple has expanded the Phone app to the Mac, complete with all of the new features coming to the app with iOS 26, such as Hold Assist, Call Screening, Live Translation, and more. The app syncs with your iPhone, allowing you to view recent phone calls and expanded contact cards, listen to voicemail messages, and more directly on your Mac.

Here is how Apple describes the Phone app on Mac:

The Phone app on Mac has the familiar features of the Phone app on iPhone — including Recents, Favorites, and Voicemails — and the latest updates like Call Screening and Hold Assist. Call Screening automatically answers calls from unknown numbers and asks the caller for information so a user can decide whether or not to answer. And when a user is stuck on hold, Hold Assist allows them to keep their spot in line while they wait for a live agent, so users can continue working on their Mac.

Journal

ios 18 journal app
Apple introduced a Journal app on the iPhone with iOS 17, and it is now available on the Mac too. You can use this app to type out your daily thoughts, and you can include drawings, handwriting, photos, videos, audio recordings, and more.

On the Mac, users can take advantage of the Journal app's new features, including the options to create multiple journals and view the locations of journal entries on a map.

Games

macOS Tahoe Games App
The all-new Games app on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone is an all-in-one hub for your App Store and Apple Arcade games, and in-game events. There are also new single-player game challenges available for competing with friends and family.

Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe 26
Related Forum: macOS Tahoe

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

When Is iPhone 17 Coming Out?

Thursday July 24, 2025 9:11 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 series is expected to debut in September 2025. This release follows Apple's recent trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. To unveil the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is expected to hold its annual iPhone announcement event during the week of September 8, 2025, with September 9 or 10 emerging as the most likely...
Read Full Article
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 16 New Features

Saturday July 26, 2025 5:50 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should launch in late September, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, as of July 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14...
Read Full Article • 209 comments
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

Tipster: iPhone 17 Pro to Feature 8x Zoom, Pro Camera App, and More

Sunday July 27, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models will have several new camera-related features, according to an anonymous tipster who contacted MacRumors today. The tipster claimed to be familiar with an iPhone 17 Pro commercial that is allegedly being produced by a film company that has publicly listed Apple as one of its clients. MacRumors has not independently confirmed any of the information shared ...
Read Full Article • 249 comments
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Thursday July 24, 2025 7:08 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
Read Full Article
Apple Partridge Creek

Apple Store in Michigan Permanently Closing Next Month

Saturday July 26, 2025 1:51 pm PDT by
Earlier this month, MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to permanently close its Partridge Creek store, just outside of Detroit, Michigan, and now the company has announced a closure date for the location. Apple Partridge Creek Apple Partridge Creek's final day of business will be Saturday, August 16, with the store set to close for good at 8 p.m. local time that day. All of ...
Read Full Article • 54 comments
iOS 18

Apple Shares iOS 18.6 Release Notes

Thursday July 24, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
While the focus is now on iOS 26, there is still an iOS 18.6 update incoming. As noted by Aaron Zollo, Apple on Wednesday re-labeled iOS 18.6 Beta 4 as simply iOS 18.6, meaning that it is the Release Candidate version. This change effectively confirms that the update will be released to the public next week. Alongside the new label, Apple shared release notes for iOS 18.6, which is a...
Read Full Article • 11 comments
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Leaked

Friday July 25, 2025 6:20 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a Macworld report this month, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report...
Read Full Article
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 16 New Features

Tuesday July 22, 2025 5:00 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, as of July 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14...
Read Full Article

Top Rated Comments

ignatius345 Avatar
ignatius345
5 weeks ago
I'm glad they saw the light with Journal. Now I just want the rest of the Health app on my Mac. I have a growing trove of data (my data!) in there, but I can only view and interact with it on my phone, the second smallest screen I own. I don't understand the logic there at all.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cristim74 Avatar
Cristim74
5 weeks ago
The two iPhone apps: Phone, Journal, and Games :)
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
vegetassj4
5 weeks ago
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Apple Brings “Phone” and “Journal” to Mac, Continues Epic Quest to Avoid Putting macOS on iPad

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — June 26, 2025 — Apple® today triumphantly announced the arrival of the Phone and Journal apps on Mac®, finally answering a prayer no one uttered. Because while the entire tech world begged for macOS on iPad, we thought: “What if... phone app on desktop?”

We know you’ve been dying to take awkward phone calls on your MacBook in public, and now, dreams you didn’t know you shouldn’t have are coming true.

[HEADING=2]Introducing Apps You Already Had, But Bigger:[/HEADING]

* Phone on Mac: Because fumbling with your iPhone for a spam call from “Potential Scam” was just too convenient. Now enjoy it in glorious 16-inch Retina™ while your AirPods refuse to switch properly.
* Journal on Mac: Document your gratitude and emotional growth directly between hate-scrolling Twitter and doom-refreshing Slack. It's the analog soul-soothing experience you wanted—on a device with 36 Chrome tabs open.

“These new apps represent our deep commitment to giving users features they didn’t ask for, while completely sidestepping the one thing they’ve been begging us to do for years,” said Craig Federighi, pausing only to stare wistfully at an iPad running Final Cut in a sandboxed nightmare. “macOS on iPad? Too obvious. Too useful. Too soon.”

This move is part of Apple’s long-term strategy of “Platform Confusion as a Service™,” keeping all your devices slightly inconsistent in the name of magical experiences™.

[HEADING=2]A Vision for the Future[/HEADING]
Instead of unifying platforms or admitting the iPad could just be a Mac with touch, we remain committed to bringing iPhone apps to Mac one at a time, very slowly, while reminding you the iPad is “a computer, but different,” except where it’s not, but kind of is, until it’s not again.

Availability
Phone and Journal will arrive with macOS Sequoia™ this fall. macOS on iPad will arrive right after hell freezes over or the butterfly keyboard makes a comeback—whichever happens first.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheHeron Avatar
TheHeron
5 weeks ago
Good to see Phone. It's been silly that I could answer a call on my Mac, but unless I wanted FaceTime I couldn't make calls with it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
snak-atak Avatar
snak-atak
5 weeks ago

Bloatware for $500 Alex!

In macOS Tahoe these 2 iphone apps are ...

What is JOurnal and GAmes?

Correct!

I'll take Bloatware for $400 ....
What’s bloatware for one is a treasure for another. I for one am looking forward to Journal for Mac and iPad as well as iPhone.

That’s not to say that the app itself isn’t bloated. It is, and it’ll probably get even more bloated before long. A journal should be lean and efficient. I don’t need state of mind suggestions and I don’t need to know how many words I’ve written.

I do agree that they should make apps like these available on the App Store for free to download instead of a default part of the os. If it’s not integral to the operating system, don’t force it on every Mac. If they do that, then that’s bloatware!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
russell_314 Avatar
russell_314
5 weeks ago

I do agree that they should make apps like these available on the App Store for free to download instead of a default part of the os.
User: I deleted the Phone app and now I can’t get phone calls on my Mac

Apple tech support: Sir you need to redownload it from the App Store.

User: What App Store? I don’t see that on my phone. You guys are just trying to scam me so I have to buy another MacBook!


Yeah that’s the reason some apps are part of the OS. Apple doesn’t want to deal with calls like this from angry users.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments