iPhone Webcam
How to Use an iPhone as a Webcam in OBS on Mac
A practical workflow for getting an iPhone camera into OBS on macOS without turning setup into the whole project.
Short answer
The cleanest OBS setup starts before OBS: get the iPhone showing up as a stable Mac camera source, then build the OBS scene around it.
Key takeaways
- Do not build overlays until the raw iPhone feed is stable.
- Use a canvas size that matches the final format before cropping the phone feed.
- For live work, test the camera source for several minutes before going live.
Step 1: Choose the camera path
Your main options are Continuity Camera, a dedicated phone webcam app, or SplonkCam. Use whichever creates the most stable camera source on your Mac.
Before opening OBS, verify the source in another app. This saves time because it separates camera setup from OBS scene setup.
Step 2: Add the source to OBS
Create a simple OBS scene and add a video capture source. Select the iPhone source or SplonkCam source. Do not add filters yet.
Check whether the feed is horizontal, vertical, cropped, or black. Fix that basic state before adding scenes, lower thirds, or streaming settings.
Step 3: Match the canvas to the output
For a normal stream, use a 16:9 canvas. For short-form video, use a vertical canvas. Do not expect the camera source to choose your social format for you.
Once the canvas matches the destination, scale and crop the iPhone camera intentionally.
Step 4: Decide if OBS is the right recorder
OBS is excellent for streaming and complex scenes. If you are just recording an app demo with your face and screen, OBS can be more machinery than you need.
Splonk is designed for the simpler creator workflow: iPhone camera, Mac screen, microphone, quick edits, and export.
FAQ
Can OBS use an iPhone camera directly on Mac?
OBS can use camera sources that macOS exposes. Continuity Camera and virtual camera apps can make the iPhone available as a source.
Should I record in OBS or Splonk?
Use OBS for complex streaming scenes. Use Splonk when the job is recording a clean screen plus iPhone camera demo and editing it quickly.