Apple is launching this useful iPhone feature for Mac and iPad with latest iPadOS 26 and macOS 26

iPhone’s Live Activities feature is coming to iPadOS and macOS with the release of iPadOS 26 and macOS 26. Here are the details.

Apple introduced the live activities feature a few years ago, and it serves an intuitive way to get access to important information from apps in snippet size pieces on iPhone. For instance, it could show how long it will take for your Uber driver to arrive, the status of your Zomato order, or the current score of your favourite sports team.

Apple shows how FCP Live Activity view shows up on iPadOS.(Apple)

Over time, it has expanded to even more platforms, including WatchOS, but now, with iPadOS 26 and macOS 26, the same functionality will be available on Apple's other platforms as well.

How It Works On iPadOS 26

Apple notes that by taking advantage of Apple Silicon, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 unlock the ability to perform computationally intensive background tasks. When users start a long-running process in an app, background tasks will come into play by showing up as live activities, giving users more control and a heads-up display of what is running. 

An example of a live activity is exporting a video in Final Cut Pro while the Mail app is running in the background. This is a clear indication that you could have something like Final Cut Pro running in the background with a video being exported, and you will clearly see how long a video has been rendered using the live activity switcher.

Live Activities On macOS

On macOS, the live activities feature comes into play using the menu bar, which actually shows live activities from your iPhone. When you click on it, the particular app opens up via iPhone mirroring so you can take action then and there. 

This is a quick and easy way of not having to touch your phone at all if you have ordered something or an Uber, for instance, while working from your Mac.

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