KDE Connect now allows you to connect Android with macOS. The stable version arrives in August

KDE Connect on macOS

As for an "ecosystem", I open an umbrella, I think the best is Apple. The way your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Homepod communicate is unrivaled. But this has a more than obvious problem: all the devices in the ecosystem have to be from the block. In Linux there is KDE Connect which, although it is different, allows us to connect our Android phone with our computer. It has always been compatible with Linux, later it was (still in development) with Windows and now it is also compatible with macOS.

So what posted KDE Community through the Inoki page. In their article they also mention how well the Apple ecosystem works, but that ecosystem serves 0 if our computer is a Mac and our phone is not an iPhone. Soon, the inability to use Android + macOS will be in the past, since They are already working so that we can connect our Android to our Mac in the same way and tool that we use to do it in Linux. Of course, everything is in a development phase that will become stable in about a month.

How to install KDE Connect on macOS

To install KDE Connect on macOS we have to follow these steps:

  1. We have two options and in both we will get a DMG image:
    1. We downloaded the KDE Connect DMG for macOS from this link. Once again, we advise that it is not yet a stable version. They will release the stable version in August.
    2. We create our own version following the instructions described here. This second option is recommended if you are running macOS 10.13 or earlier.
  2. It probably will not allow us to run the software, but it is normal due to a security function that macOS has introduced in the latest versions. After executing it, if it fails, we have to allow its execution from the system's security settings.
  3. We open the DMG image: just double click on it to see the following:

KDE Connect DMG

  1. macOS allows us to run many applications without installing them, but this does not make much sense when it comes to an application that we are going to use frequently and, even less, if we want it to be well integrated with the system. To install it, simply drag the icon kdeconnect-indicator-app to the Applications folder that will appear next to it.

How it is used

  1. Now that it is installed, we can use it. Once the icon is dragged to the applications folder, it will be available in that folder. To run KDE Connect we have three options:
    1. We double click on the icon that has been created in the applications folder.
    2. We make a gesture of closing three fingers on the Trackpad to open the Launchpad and click on KDE Connect Indicator. We can also open the Launchpad from the dock icon (if we have not removed it).
    3. We press CMD + Spacio to launch Spotlight, we look for the app and we press enter.
  2. When you open the app, the icon will appear in the system tray. We click on it and then on «Configure» to open its settings.
  3. In the window that appears, we will see the devices that are available. We search and select our Android phone.

KDE Connect in the system tray

What can I do with KDE Connect for macOS

Right now, what you can do with KDE Connect for macOS is:

  • Execute predefined commands of our Mac from connected devices.
  • Check the battery level of our phone from the desktop.
  • Make our phone ring to find it.
  • Share files and links between devices.
  • Control the volume of the Mac from the phone.
  • Keep the Mac awake while the phone is connected.
  • Receive notifications from our phone on our computer (currently disabled).

The most painful absence and I would even say disappointing is one that is, but deactivated: the possibility of receiving notifications from our phone on the Mac. in August, when they release the stable version KDE Connect for macOS. I think that, until then, what is available for Apple computers will be a bit lame. In any case, we can already use KDE Connect with Apple computers.

KDE Connect
Related article:
KDE Connect was removed from Google Play for policy violation

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