A few minutes to set up. A couple of seconds every time after.
Install Beacon on your Mac
Download Beacon and give it permission to record the screen. It lives in your menu bar, with no Dock icon, and opens by itself when you log in.
Pair your iPhone or iPad
Open Beam, tap Pair Your Mac and pick it from the list. Type the 6-digit code Beacon shows you. You only do this once.
Tap Start Beam
From then on, open Beam anywhere in the house and tap Start Beam. Your Mac's screen and sound are on your phone in a couple of seconds.
Your Mac, wherever you sit. Watch it, and step in when you need to.
Sharp, smooth, with sound
Up to 4K and your display's native resolution, and up to 120 fps on ProMotion iPhones and iPads when your Mac's display keeps up. Mac audio plays on your phone, or switch it off.
The whole screen, or one window
Pick a single window from your phone and Beam shows only that, even when it's buried under others on the Mac. Or crop to any area and pinch to zoom.
Reach in when you need to
Tap to click, hold to right-click or drag, slide two fingers to scroll. Type with a live keyboard that has esc, tab, the arrows and ⌘ above it, or build a bar of up to eight buttons for shortcuts and macros.
Your controller, on the Mac
Pair a controller with your phone and play Mac games from the couch. The Mac sees an Xbox Wireless Controller, sticks, triggers and all. No driver to install.
Encrypted end to end
The picture, the sound and every click and key press are encrypted with the secret your Mac and phone agree on when you pair. Beam runs no servers in between.
Picture in Picture
Shrink the stream to a floating window and keep watching while you text, browse or scroll. A tall window gets a tall player, with no black bars.
At home, or anywhere
At home the stream goes straight from your Mac to your phone over Wi‑Fi. With Beam Unlimited it reaches your Mac from anywhere over your own Tailscale network.
Open source
Beam and Beacon are free software under the AGPL. You can read exactly what they do with your screen, or build them yourself.
Try all of it first.
At home, the free version has everything. Pay once to stream without a time limit, and from anywhere.
Start streaming, no card needed.
- Unlimited streaming for your first 3 days
- Then 30 minutes in every 24 hours
- Every feature and every quality setting
- On your home Wi‑Fi
- Beacon on the Mac is always free
An in-app purchase in Beam, restorable with your Apple Account.
- Stream as long as you like
- Stream from anywhere over Tailscale
- Works on your iPhone and iPad
- Pay once, keep it
Not a subscription. You pay once and it stays unlocked. Prices can vary by country. The App Store shows yours.
Guides for everything Beam does
Step-by-step help, from the first setup to streaming from anywhere and playing Mac games from the couch.
Questions, answered.
Something else on your mind? Write to [email protected] and a person reads it.
Can I mirror my Mac screen to my iPhone or iPad?
Yes, that's what Beam does. Install Beacon on your Mac and Beam on your iPhone or iPad, pair them once, and your Mac's screen and sound play on your phone over your home Wi-Fi. There's no account to make. With Beam Unlimited it also works away from home.
Does AirPlay work from Mac to iPhone?
No. An iPhone can send AirPlay but can't receive it, and Apple has no built-in way to put a Mac screen on an iPhone. Sidecar does it for iPad only, and only as a second display at your desk.
Can I control my Mac from Beam?
Yes, for most everyday things. Turn on click mode and tap to click, touch and hold to right-click or drag, and slide two fingers to scroll. The live keyboard types into the Mac, with esc, tab, the arrows and the modifier keys above it. You can also build a bar of up to eight buttons in Beacon for shortcuts, media keys and macros, and a game controller paired with your phone works on the Mac. Beam doesn't move files or clipboard contents between your phone and your Mac.
Can I stream just one window?
Yes. Tap the window button while streaming and pick a window. Beam shows only that window, even when other windows cover it on the Mac.
How good does it look?
As good as your Wi-Fi allows. Beam goes from 360p up to 4K and your Mac display's native resolution, at 30 or 60 fps, and up to 120 fps on ProMotion iPhones and iPads when your Mac's display runs that fast too. Auto adjusts to your connection.
Can I use Beam when I'm away from home?
Yes, with Beam Unlimited. Put your Mac and your phone on the same Tailscale network, which is free for personal use, and Beam reaches your Mac from anywhere. Tailscale connects the two directly when it can and through its own encrypted relay when it can't. Beam runs no servers in between either way.
Does Beam need an internet connection?
Not at home. On your own Wi-Fi, the stream goes straight from your Mac to your phone, so it keeps working even if your internet is down. Streaming away from home goes over the internet, so both devices need to be online. Either way the connection is encrypted end to end between your own two devices, and Beam runs no servers in the path.
How do I set it up?
Download Beacon on your Mac and Beam from the App Store. Open Beam, tap Pair Your Mac and choose your Mac. Beacon shows a 6-digit code; type it into Beam. Then tap Start Beam.
What do I need?
A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and an iPhone or iPad with iOS 16 or later. Both need to be on the same Wi-Fi, or on the same Tailscale network if you stream from elsewhere with Beam Unlimited.
Is Beam free?
Both apps are free to download. Your first stream starts a 3-day trial with no limits. After that, you can stream for 30 minutes in total in every 24 hours. Beam Unlimited, a one-time $7.99 purchase, removes the limit and adds streaming from anywhere.
Is Beam open source?
Yes. Both apps are free software under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, so you can read exactly what they do with your screen and sound. You can use, change and share them, commercially too, as long as you publish your changes under the same licence. If you want to build Beam or Beacon into a closed-source product, a separate commercial licence is available.
Get both apps.
Beacon goes on your Mac, Beam on your iPhone or iPad. Both are free to start, and neither needs an account.
Beacon asks for Screen Recording permission on first launch, and Accessibility if you want to click and type from the phone. Both devices need to be on the same Wi‑Fi, or on the same Tailscale network with Beam Unlimited.