Hands-On Apple 201: Meet the New macOS Phone App

Host: Micah Sargent
Date: September 25, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Hands-On Apple, Micah Sargent provides a detailed walkthrough of the brand new, standalone Phone app introduced in macOS Tahoe. Sargent explores its setup, features, and practical benefits—including how it now differs from FaceTime, and why this update streamlines making and managing calls directly from your Mac.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why a Standalone Phone App?

• The new macOS Phone app is no longer bundled within FaceTime, giving users a dedicated interface for phone calls:

  “Apple has added to macOS Tahoe… the phone app. That’s right, your Mac... has been able to make calls for a while, but Apple went ahead and separated out the phone app into its own situation, separate from FaceTime.” (01:30)

• Sargent explains that this separation makes placing calls from your Mac more intuitive and easier than before.

2. Setup Requirements for Using the Phone App

Micah Sargent walks step by step through setup, emphasizing:

• Both Mac and iPhone must be:
  • On the same Wi-Fi network
  • Signed into the same Apple ID
  • Configured in your iPhone’s settings: Settings → Apps → Phone → Calls on Other Devices → toggle “Allow Calls on Other Devices”
  • FaceTime signed in on both devices, with your phone number enabled:

“You also need to make sure that you’ve set up your iPhone to allow phone calls on the Mac. … And this is the important thing, make sure that on both devices… FaceTime [is signed in] and have your phone number turned on in FaceTime settings… If you don’t have that turned on, whenever you open the phone app, you won’t be able to use the phone app to its full extent.” (02:08 - 03:04)

3. Placing and Receiving Calls

• You can dial phone numbers or initiate FaceTime audio/video calls from your Mac.
• For regular phone calls (i.e., not FaceTime), your Mac uses Wi-Fi to instruct your iPhone to actually dial the number, but you interact via your Mac:

“Your Mac is going to use your WiFi connection to make your phone actually do the dialing and then relay all of that to the Mac… but it’s actually happening via the phone.” (03:22)

• If your Mac isn’t set up with your phone number, only FaceTime is available.

4. Settings and Customization

• Access settings via the menu bar:
  • Set your account, ringtone, and call location
  • Call Options:
    • Hold Assist Detection: Alerts you when a call on hold is ready to resume

      “Hold Assist detection... notify you when it’s time to pick up. So if you call support… you don’t want to wait… your Mac will say, ‘boop, they’re ready to talk to you.’” (04:15)

    • Live Voicemail: Read voicemail in near-real time to decide if you want to answer mid-message.
    • Unknown Callers Screening:
      • Ask reason for calling (callers prompted to respond to a query)
      • Silence unknown callers (divert straight to voicemail; appears in “Recents”)
    • Call Filtering: Separates unknown callers in a special section.
    • Block FaceTime Addresses and Numbers: Manually block individuals.

5. During a Call: Advanced Features

Via the three-dots menu in-call:

• Add participants to a call (i.e., make it a conference)

• View Call Details/Contact Info

• Call Recording and Transcription:

  “We can click Call Recording, which will actually transcribe the call and then summarize it.” (06:04)

  • Recording launches with a 3-second warning and notifies both sides (compliance)
  • Audio and transcript appear in the Notes app after the call

  “You’ll see a countdown. Three, two, one. And I hear, ‘This call is being recorded.’ The person on the other end hears, ‘This call is being recorded.’” (07:09)

• Live Translation (Beta):

  • Automatically translates voices in real-time between major languages (currently does not imitate voice tone)

  “Live Translation says, I want you to change… let’s say they speak Spanish. I want you to translate that to English or vice versa. … It will begin to translate between those two languages… It does not work the same as Google’s, which tries to match the voice and timbre… it will kind of neutralize the voice.” (08:12)

• Hold Assist (manual trigger): Instantly alerts you when a hold call resumes

• Screen Sharing: Initiate screen sharing in video calls for collaboration

6. Interface and Organization

• Favorites & Filtering: Add recent callers to favorites; filter all the following views:
  • All calls
  • Missed calls
  • Voicemails
  • Unknown callers
• Microphone & Audio Output: Easily select input/output device (built-in, AirPods, etc.)
• Benefit of Separation from FaceTime:

  “Now that it’s its own app, I find that it’s a little bit easier to use and a little bit more obvious to the system that that’s what you’re trying to do.” (11:32)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the app’s biggest benefit:

  “Arguably a pretty powerful phone app, a full-featured phone app for macOS that separates the phone app from FaceTime, which is something that I’m honestly happy about…” (10:30)

• On Live Voicemail:

  “You can start to see what the voicemail is going to be even before the call has come to a close… you kind of get an early voicemail and go, ‘Oh, actually, that is a person I want to talk to. Let’s talk to them instead of letting it go the rest of the way to voicemail.’” (05:00)

• On Live Translation’s limitations:

  “It does not work that same way [as Google’s solution]. So that’s something to be mindful of… it will kind of neutralize the voice for the sake of properly translating.” (09:23)

Major Timestamps

• 01:30 — Introduction to the new Phone app on macOS Tahoe
• 02:08 — Step-by-step setup requirements
• 03:22 — How call handling works between Mac and iPhone
• 04:15 — Walkthrough of main Phone app settings and options
• 06:04 — In-call options, including recording and transcription
• 08:12 — Live Translation demo and explanation
• 10:30 — Discussion: Why separating Phone from FaceTime matters
• 11:32 — Sargent’s personal workflow and reasons for preferring the new approach

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Micah Sargent offers both a practical demo and a user’s perspective on the new Phone app for macOS, highlighting how it simplifies and modernizes the experience of making calls from your computer. Key features like Live Voicemail, screening, transcription, and real-time translation make the app robust and user-friendly, while the separation from FaceTime clarifies and streamlines workflow for power users and beginners alike.

“That is a look at the new phone app in macOS Tahoe… Thanks so much for tuning in. I’ll be back again next week with another episode.” (11:57)