Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you, like me, prefer typing on your laptop’s keyboard rather than the tiny iPhone keypad, or you just don’t want to switch devices to answer a text or call, you can set up your Mac to receive calls and texts from your iPhone. With an Apple ID, you can also send texts and make calls over the internet using the Messages and FaceTime apps on your Mac.
To make calls using cellular service or to send SMS messages through your carrier (as opposed to over the internet), your iPhone needs to be running iOS 8.1 or later and your Mac needs to be running OS X Yosemite or later.
Note: Following these instructions won’t transfer your contacts between your Mac and your iPhone. To do that, you’ll either have to set up iCloud contacts or sync them.