The continuity camera feature for MacOS Ventura opened up the ability to use your iPhone 14 as a webcam for your Mac. This was helped with a clever little adapter from Belkin that allowed the iPhone to sit on top of your MacBook. Now though, Belkin has released a bigger version of the iPhone mount that allows it to sit on the top of desktop monitors and displays. In fact, it's so chunky, you could probably mount it on a TV.
The new Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac desktops and displays costs a little more ($40 rather than $30, not available in the UK yet) and is much chunkier than the original. It has a double-folding mount that allows it to sit sturdily on top of a wider monitor and be angled up to 25 degrees downward. It also includes a 1/4-inch tripod screw that allows it to be mounted on a tripod.
This adapter is a much better option for anyone working with an external monitor with their MacBook (or using a Mac Mini) as you can actually place the iPhone on top of your monitor and get incredibly sharp webcam footage.
Where this adapter really excites me though is that it can potentially be used on top of a TV. That means that if you are using AirPlay to mirror your screen from your Mac, you can FaceTime properly from your TV, using your iPhone.
Now imagine that an update to the Apple TV were to allow the use of the Continuity Camera, and FaceTime. That would mean that you could use your Apple TV to take video calls, which is the only thing for me that the device is missing.
I'm really hoping that this new adapter is a sign that Apple is thinking the same way. It would be a great thing to have the Apple TV do, and would create an even better way to have video chats.
