FB21363104: ScreenCaptureKit should allow capturing the screen of a connected iOS device #737
Description
Submission Date
2025-12-17
Status
Open
Area
ScreenCaptureKit
Operating System Version
macOS
Type
Suggestion
Description
Currently, the only way to capture the screen of a connected iOS device is through AVFoundation. You set a C-style flag (kCMIOHardwarePropertyAllowScreenCaptureDevices) and then the connected device appears as an AVCaptureDevice. This is what QuickTime and Keynote do.
This system hasn’t been touched in a while, so there are a number of limitations* that hobble modern devices and the developer ergonomics are fairly poor. Ideally, ScreenCaptureKit can take over responsibility for this feature.
*Issues include:
- No support for wide color or HDR (FB15689935, FB21253515)
- The “Trust Computer?” dialog requires disconnecting and reconnecting (FB21253552)
- There is no indication when the connected device is locked, so the frames just go stale and repeat (FB21253528, FB21253535)
- The only way to detect a device rotation is by listening for format description changes. And when you rotate mid-recording, the recording fails and the data is lost (FB21253500)
Keywords
No response
Prerequisites
- The title follows the format
FB<number>: <title> - I will keep this issue updated with Apple's responses