OS X Yosemite comes with a really cool new feature that lets you send and receive SMS text messages on your Mac. Here’s how to set it up.
Previously, you could only send and receive iMessages on your Mac, SMS text messages had to be processed on your iPhone. However, thanks to OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.1, you can now process all text messages directly on your Mac.
Apple calls it Text Message Forwarding and allows text messages received by your iPhone to be mirrored on your Mac running OS X Yosemite. You can also send SMS text messages from your Mac using this method.
However, the feature will not work automatically as there are a few conditions you should be aware of. We’ll show you how to set up Text Message Forwarding so you can start receiving and sending SMS text messages on your Mac.
Setting Up Text Message Forwarding
Setting up this feature is really quick and easy and takes less than a minute to do.
The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure your iPhone and Mac are connected to the same WiFi network and signed into the same iCloud account. If you’re at home and still only have one iCloud account, you’re probably good to go, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check.
You will also want your iPhone to be updated to the latest version of iOS for this feature to work. The latest version of iOS is iOS 8.1.
After meeting all these criteria go ahead and open the app on your iPhone and go to .
Selecting the option opens a window with a list of your iOS and OS X devices. Your Mac should be listed so go ahead and toggle the toggle switch to On. Doing so sends a verification code to your Mac in the form of a six-digit number. You will be asked to enter this number on your iPhone.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll be good to go and you’ll start receiving SMS text messages on your Mac as well as your iPhone as usual. SMS text conversations look just like iMessage conversations, but text bubbles appear green instead of blue, just like on iOS.
Other New Things in OS X Yosemite
OS X Yosemite was first announced during Apple’s annual WWDC developers conference in June, and has been spent in summer beta form for developers to test and report any bugs. The operating system has seen multiple beta releases over the past few months, and it was finally released to the public last weekend.
This new version of OS X comes with some nice features, including an entirely new look and feel, which finally brings OS X on par with iOS 7, thanks to translucent windows and menus. Icons that mimic the iOS 7 icons, but still have some depth, so there’s still a bit of that classic OS X feel.
Additionally, OS X 10.10 Yosemite also introduces improvements to Messages, including the ability to send and receive SMS text messages (rather than just iMessages) and the ability to make and receive phone calls as long as your iPhone is nearby and can connect to your phone. Match.
OS X Yosemite also includes Handoff, which allows users to start a task on one device and complete it on the other. There’s also cross-platform support for AirDrop between iOS and OS X.
One of the first things Apple launched on stage with the new OS X 10.10 Yosemite was the look of the new icons. They’re obviously compatible with iOS and have a flatter design we’ve seen on the iPhone and iPad, but still have some depth to prevent the design from being purely iOS.
Windows is also much flatter and less bubbly than we’ve seen in previous versions of OS X, and navigation menus (as well as apps’ title bars) are transparent, similar to the different elements in iOS 7. Control Center.
If you haven’t installed OS X Yosemite yet, here’s a comprehensive guide do a clean install on your Mac machine.
