Bezel: share your iPhone and iPad screen on your Mac with realistic frames
English translation of an italian post that was originally published on Levysoft.it
Bezel is an application for macOS that allows you to duplicate the screen of your iPhone or iPad on your Mac by simply connecting it with its USB cable.
Features
Bezel is an app that can be useful to anyone who wants to display their iPhone on their Mac. Simply connect the iPhone or iPad to the computer via a Lightning or USB-C cable to have it appear as a window on the desktop, making everything extremely simple and intuitive.
But what sets this application apart is that it will display, in addition to the screen, realistic and high-quality frames of the connected device, including the latest iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. In fact, the frame and color of the device are automatically matched to the connected device, although you can choose to change the color yourself.
For this reason, Bezel could be particularly appreciated by content creators and app development teams who could use it, for example, to show their work and share progress in a screen sharing session during meetings (both during a live app presentation on a big screen and sharing the screen remotely via Zoom, Teams, or others), but in a more visually appealing way compared to the native macOS mode with Quicktime.
Here is how it looks, on the left, on QuickTime, and on the right, on Bezel.
As you can see, adding the frame of the device makes it much more visually pleasing. This visual appeal does not come at the expense of speed, as the screen mirroring is always very responsive and fluid.
As already mentioned, you can also change the color of the frame from a menu at the top right:
Unlike Quicktime, it does not allow you to natively record videos of the mirrored device, but its purpose is not this but simply to show, with an elegant look thanks to very accurate and high-resolution frames of the device, apps or demos directly from the smartphone to the Mac.
Automatic rotation in horizontal and vertical modes is also handled:
But one thing Quicktime doesn’t do, and Bezel handles perfectly, is playing multiple devices at the same time. In fact, with Quicktime you can only choose between one of the two devices:
With Bezel, you can select them all at the same time:
Here’s an example of how two devices, such as an iPhone and an iPad Pro, appear when mirrored and side by side on Bezel:
Notice the definition of the frame and the home button of the iPad: they look real.
Another thing that sets it apart from Quicktime is that when the device is locked, if the last active screen remains on the Apple player, Bezel displays the lock screen indication because it recognizes when the phone is locked or if the screen is off:
You can also pin a device to the front of all other windows:
Furthermore, it is possible to change the screen size of the device to match the physical or pixel size of the device itself:
Finally, Standby mode introduced with iOS 17, is also supported and comes into action when your iPhone is charged via MagSafe (allowing you to see the time, look at photos or view widgets on the initial lock screen):
Troubleshooting
If you encounter problems, on the site you will also find a very useful guide on how to resolve any connection problems which can basically be summarized as: try disconnecting and reconnecting the cable, restart the iPhone or Mac and try using another data cable Apple certified in case it is damaged or incompatible. As you can see, they are simple operations because Bezel actually works without any problem.
In fact, once installed and clicked on “Get Started”, you just need to follow the excellent introductory guide to set up new devices and connect the smartphone to the computer, making sure to authorize the data connection to the iPhone/iPad and grant any access to elements such as the camera.
A curiosity
If you use the mirroring mode of the iPhone or iPad on macOS, both with Bezel and with Quicktime, you will notice that both the hardware device and its screen reproduction automatically set to a specific time and date: 9:41 AM on Tuesday, January 9th. The same happens during Apple Keynotes and on all advertising posters: the time shown by the devices is always the same, 9:41 in the morning. The reason is simple: the origin can be traced back to the moment of the launch of the original iPhone, which occurred at 9:41 on January 9, 2007, when Steve Jobs announced the product that would revolutionize the world of mobile phones, the iPhone with the historic phrase: “Today we introduce three revolutionary devices. The first is an iPod with touch controls and the second a revolutionary phone”. In short, it is an elegant way to remember that historical moment as well as to honor the memory of Steve Jobs.
Where to find it
Bezel supports all iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch (including the latest iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro) with USB-C or Lightning connectors starting from iOS 8 and macOS 12 Monterey. The application is free but with a watermark, while paying for a license of $29 (now on promotion for $19) will remove the logo displayed on the screen.
The low price makes this app truly accessible to everyone. Definitely a useful tool for everyday life for those developing apps or creating content from the iPhone.
Originally published at https://www.levysoft.it.
