Use Iphone through a PC?

September 19, 2022 4:22 AM

On an Iphone - can I send sms messages, edit contacts and see my phone log - through my (Windows) computer?

I'm a long time android phone user and would like to switch to an Iphone.

I have a neck problem, so I do as many phone related tasks as possible using my Windows PC (using a keyboard and monitor) instead of craning over the phone. I use the app Airdroid to do this.

Is there any way to do this with an Iphone?

posted by mirileh to Technology (7 answers total)

There are apps that will let you mirror your screen. I don’t know if they will let you use they keyboard as input, but if not a cheap Bluetooth keyboard will.
posted by Bottlecap at 4:40 AM on September 19, 2022

this is why I only give my iPhone number to close friends, I have a Google voice number for work. can do all you asked with Voice. can read on phone app or pc
posted by cda at 5:01 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]

You can do all of this with a Mac, but I don't think any of it works with Windows.
posted by jordemort at 5:26 AM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you’re looking to interact with the phone directly, there are a number of third party airplay receivers available for Windows.

There are also some iPhone file/contacts/settings apps available, if you want to go that route.
posted by rambling wanderlust at 5:42 AM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

There are tools like AirMessage and BlueBubbles that give you a website to view and send iPhone messages, but you’ll need a MacOS computer to serve as the host. You can usually pick up an old but usable Mac for several hundred dollars on eBay or someplace similar, YMMV on all of that being worth it.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:57 AM on September 19, 2022

Contacts: if your contacts are synced to another server (either iCloud or Active Directory) you can view and edit them with those web interfaces.

Set up and use iCloud Contacts
Google Contacts
posted by meowzilla at 9:57 AM on September 19, 2022

You can also pair Bluetooth mouse and keyboards to the iPhone, among the huge number of assistive technologies that Apple includes in iOS and MacOS. That way, whether you airplay to your windows machine, or your television, you can find a combination that hopefully works well for you.
posted by rambling wanderlust at 4:12 PM on September 19, 2022