The Mac’s Preview App Is Finally Available on iPhone
Your iPhone is essentially a computer that fits into your pocket, so it is logical that Apple treats it as such. At this stage, with iOS 26, the iPhone and iPad have obtained a new application which has been a Mac exclusivity for over 20 years: overview.
What can you do with the preview application?
As on macOS, the preview application for iOS and iPados is widely designed to display PDF and other documents. When you open the application for the first time, you will see the options to create a new document or scan one with the camera of your iPhone.
Most of the time, however, you probably have an existing document that you want to open using the overview. If this is the case, you will find these options in the lower half of this starting page. This is the integration of the preview with the File application: you can browse your documents from files and open any present with the preview.
Once you have a busy document, you can display, annotate, mark and modify it. If you must complete a document with your information, you can use Autofill to automatically enter contact information and other recorded details. You can add your signature, and if you are on your iPad, you can use your Apple pencil to draw on the document. Otherwise, you can use your finger to mark the file.
You can also export documents from the APROVE application. You can work with file types, including HEIDC, JPEG, PDF, PNG and TIFF. And as for the overview of MacOS, there are a certain number of controls during export, such as resolution, integration of the text and the recording of images as JPEG.
Although you can do a lot here, the greatest force I see for this mobile preview application is to use it as a legal document tool. If you need to sign an important document, you can scan it quickly in the application, add your signature, fill all the information – maybe automatically with Autofill – then send an e -mail to the doc, all without having to jump on your computer.
The preview on iOS is always a work in progress
If you look at the APPEP page of the preview, you will notice some mixed criticism. After using the application a little, I understand why. The preview for iOS is definitely a work in progress and needs some key upgrades.
What do you think so far?
The biggest oddities that I immediately noticed: the main menu page is congested, the integration of files looks more like a problem than a dedicated window. Speaking of files, Apple made the decision to have documents in open files in the preview. At first, it seems to be a good idea, until you have the experience in person on iOS and iPados. Be dragged out of the file application when you do not expect it to be shocked, especially when you are used to consulting your documents directly in the application.
The bypass solution here is to avoid opening files, well, files. Use the integration of files into the preview, in order to stay in the same application. As it is intuitive. You can also choose to delete the APPROVE application, but it’s a bit of a shame when it is a major update for iOS and iPados 26.
In addition, when you choose the markup option, there is no clear way to leave without closing the whole application. As far as I know, the only way to do it is to press the three points at the top right, then press the markup to leave this menu. The markup button should really stay on the screen as it does on MacOS, so it is obvious to reject it.
