I recently purchased an Iphone and a Mac, expanding my Apple device lineup to three: iPhone, Ipad, and Mac. After I started using them together, one thing that immediately impressed me was how good the Apple ecosystem is, as you always hear.

Apple offers several features to connect different Apple devices and make them work together seamlessly. If you own multiple Apple devices, you can connect them together and enjoy a seamless experience. It’s super convenient and quite useful in real life.

We recently published an article about fun and creative ways to share your iPad and Mac. In it, we introduced several Mac Continuity features that let you share files, sign in to documents, write handwritten notes, control your iPad with a Mac mouse and keyboard, and more. But not only iPad and Mac you can also connect your iPhone and iPad with Apple Continuity. In this guide, you’ll learn 5 different ways to share your iPhone and iPad.

5 Ways to Use Your iPhone and iPad Together

Share Files Seamlessly Between iPad and iPhone

Let’s start with the simple and powerful feature that most Apple users can use: Airdrop. This feature allows Apple devices to wirelessly share and receive documents, photos, websites, notes, and map locations with other nearby Apple devices. You can simply turn on Airdrop and start sharing files right away. Apple Airdrop is much better than Google Nearby Share or other file-sharing methods you’ll find on other operating systems. If you own an iPhone or an iPad, you can easily use this feature and share files between the devices instantly without much hassle.

How to setup and use Apple Airdrop on your iPhone and iPad

• Setup Airdrop: Sign into iCloud with the same Apple ID on both devices. Turn on Bluetooth and Wifi on your iPhone and iPad.
  
•  On the iPhone open settings > General> Airdrop and select Contacts only. On iPad, go to Control Center, turn on Airdrop, and select Contacts. You can select all to receive files from everyone (not your contacts).
  
• Sharing files: Make sure the devices are close to each other. For a better experience, they should be no more than 9 meters apart. Now select the file you want to share with your iPhone or iPad. Click the Share button and select Airdrop. Now you will see your iPhone or iPad as an option. Tap on it to start sharing files.

Start the Work on iPad and Then Switch to iPhone

Next, we have the Apple Handoff feature, which I personally like and use the most. With the Handoff feature, you can start working on one device, such as your iPad, and then switch to another nearby device(iPhone) and continue working. You can continue working where you left off. For example, if you are writing a draft in the email app or taking notes on your iPad, you can immediately switch to the iPhone and continue working in the app where you left off. The process is very simple and instantaneous. Apple Handoff also syncs files between devices. All the photos, videos, and documents that are on your Apple devices are instantly available on all your other devices.

How to setup and use the Apple Handoff feature on iPhone and iPad

• Handoff feature is only available on the latest version of Apple devices. You can read the full requirements here. If you meet the requirements, Sign in to iCloud using the same Apple ID on your iPhone and iPad, and turn on Bluetooth and Wifi on your Apple iPhone and iPad.
  
• Go to Settings and enable the Apple Handoff feature. You can follow the same steps on your iPhone and iPad. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap General, and click on the Airdrop & Handoff feature. Now find the Handoff feature and turn it on to activate it.
  
• Open an app that works with Handoff. All Pre-installed apps on your iPhone or iPad are compatible with the Apple Handoff feature. The list of apps includes Safari, Contacts, Mail, Maps, Messages, Notes, Phone, and Reminders, and Third-party apps like Airbnb, iA Write, PC Calc, and Pocket are also compatible with Apple Handoff features.
• In this case, I’m using Apple Notes. To switch from iPhone to iPad, open the Notes app on your iPhone. On your iPad, you’ll immediately find the Apple Notes app with the iPhone logo at the top of the Apple Doc. Tap the Notes app to switch to iPad.
  
• If you want to switch the app from iPad to iPhone, open Apple Notes on your iPad. On the iPhone, go to the Notes tab, and you’ll see the Apple Notes app from the iPad at the bottom. You can tap on it to open the Notes app on your iPhone.
  

Copy and Paste Between iPad and iPhone

Another feature that I personally use the most is Apple Universal Clipboard. When this feature is enabled, you can copy text, images, or videos on one Apple device and then paste them on another Apple device, and it works seamlessly like other Apple features. This is basically a clipboard, but it works between different devices. The content you copied on one Apple device is automatically added to the clipboard and stays there for a short time until you replace it by copying something else on one of the devices.

How to setup and use Apple universal clipboard feature on iPhone and iPad

• Sign in with the same Apple ID on your iPad and iPhone and turn on Bluetooth and Wifi on your iPhone and iPad.
  
• Now go to Settings on your iPad and iPhone, tap General, and then tap Airdrop & Handoff. Now find the Handoff function and activate the switch to enable it.
  
• To copy and paste content between devices, copy the text, image, file, or other content on one device as usual and paste the content on the other device. The content is automatically pasted to the other device.

Make and Receive Phone Calls on iPad Without iPhone

With the cellular feature, you can make and receive calls directly from your iPad without having to open your iPhone. This can be very handy for answering incoming calls immediately when you’re working on your iPad. To use this feature, both devices must meet the requirements set by Apple and be on the same network. If your carrier supports Wifi Calling, you can make and receive calls even when the iPhone is not turned on or nearby.

How to setup and use the Apple Cellular Calls feature on the iPad

• Make sure your iPad and iPhone meet the Continuity System requirements.
• Also, the iPhone and iPad need to be in close proximity and set up as follows.
• Both devices should be signed in with the same Apple Id and signed in to FaceTime with the same Apple Id, and finally, the Wi-Fi must be turned on on both devices, and both iPhones and iPad must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network or Ethernet. 
• On your iPhone, go to Settings > Phone > Calls on Other Devices and turn on Allow calls on other devices.
• On your iPad, go to Settings > FaceTime > Calls from iPhone and turn on Calls from iPhone.

After you set up the Apple Celluar feature on your iPad and iPhone, you can make and receive calls on your iPad when your iPhone is nearby and on the same network as your iPad.

When a call comes in on your iPhone, a notification appears on your iPad. You can answer the call, send a voicemail, or reply with a message. To make a call, you can simply use the app and click on the phone number you see in your app. Then tap or click a phone button or choose a call option from a menu. You can also call directly from the FaceTime app. This may vary depending on the app you use to make calls. If you no longer want to receive calls on one of your devices, simply turn off the Calls from the iPhone setting on that device.

Instant Hotspot Without Entering the Password

Instant Hotspot is a lifesaver for me in many situations. The feature provides instant Internet access for the iPad by automatically connecting the iPad to the iPhone’s personal hotspot. This can be very helpful if you are doing some important work on your iPad and your wifi suddenly stops working. With the Instant Hotspot feature, you can connect to your iPhone hotspot instantly without having to turn on the hotspot on your iPhone manually, find the iPhone network on your iPad, and then enter the password to connect.

How to setup and use Instant Hotspot Feature

• Make sure both iPhone and iPad are logged into iCloud with the same Apple ID and Bluetooth and Wifi are enabled.
  
• To connect to the personal hotspot, go to the Wifi settings on your iPad. You can do this by going to the main settings on your iPad and then selecting Wifi. Alternatively, you can also go to the Control Center, long press on the Wifi icon, and then tap on Wifi Settings.
  
• Here, you’ll see all the wifi networks. At MY NETWORKS, you’ll see the iPhone Hotspot connection with your iPhone’s name, as well as the network signal, status, and battery icon.
  
• You can tap on the iPhone network to connect to the iPhone hotspot immediately.
  

FAQs on How to Use Apple iPhone and iPad Together

1. How to sync files between my iPad and iPhone?

Apple offers several features for syncing files between your iPad and iPhone. Here’s how you can use them to sync files between your iPad and iPhone:

• Sign in with the same Apple ID: Apple syncs data across multiple devices with iCloud. To sync your iPhone and iPad, you need to make sure you’re signed into the iCloud account with the same Apple ID. You can check this by clicking Cloud in the settings of your iPad and iPhone. The email after the Apple iCloud icon should be the same on both devices.
• Turn on iCloud sync: After using the same Apple ID on your iPhone and iPad, make sure future syncing is turned on. To check this on your iPhone or iPad, go to the iCloud Drive main settings and turn on syncing.
• Turn on Apple handoff feature: Apple Handoff feature: Apple Handoff is a very useful feature that allows you to switch between different Apple devices. When the Handoff feature is enabled on your iPhone and iPad, all the photos, videos, documents, and other content that are on your Apple devices will be available on all the other devices as well.

2. Can I mirror my iPhone screen on my iPad?

Apple allows you to mirror your iPhone or iPad screen on Mac, but so far, there is no way to mirror an iPhone screen on iPad. Fortunately, you can use third-party apps like Apowermirror to mirror your iPhone screen on your iPad.

• Download the free “ApowerMirror” app from the App Store on both your iPhone and iPad.
• Open the app on both devices. Allow the necessary permissions to use the app
• Connect both devices to the same Wifi Network.
• Open the app on your iPhone, tap the “Mirror” option, and now select your iPad from the device list. Tap on “Start Transfer”.
• After a few seconds, your iPhone screen should appear on your iPad. You can adjust the orientation of the display by rotating your iPad.

3. Can I control my iPad using my iPhone?

You can use the Switch control on your iPhone to control your iPad and other Apple devices. To use Switch control on your iPhone, connect your iPhone and iPad to the same Wi-Fi network and log in to the iCloud account on both devices using the same Apple ID. Now go to Settings, then Switch Control and turn on Switch Control on your device. Using your switch, navigate to the Switch Control home panel, select Devices, then iPad, and select Connect to control your iPad with your iPhone.