Hands down, one of the best aspects of OS X 10.10 Yosemite is the interplay it allows between Macs and iOS devices. Using your MacBook as a speakerphone for iPhone calls is a pretty cool feeling — and it really does “just work” in true Apple fashion. (SMS relay and other Continuity features can be slightly trickier to get going.) But there’s one thing missing from what Apple’s given us with Yosemite: a dedicated phone dialer. Or at least a traditional one. You can place calls to just about anywhere through the FaceTime app; start typing a number or contact’s name into the text field and you’ll see an option to launch that call with iPhone.
Here’s the phone dialer Apple should have included with OS X Yosemite
But some people still like entering phone numbers the old fashioned way, and many are probably clueless that FaceTime can help. For them, a straightforward and dedicated dialer app could prove easier. That's where Continuity Keypad comes in. Available now as a beta download, Continuity Keypad basically acts as a middleman between you and the FaceTime app. Dial a number (yes, you'll hear dial tones), hit the green button, and OS X will immediately open FaceTime and place the call. Well, not immediately; you'll still need to hit another "call" button before your iPhone starts dialing. And aside from other small features like "add to contacts," that's really all Continuity Keypad does. (There's a handy Notification Center widget, too.) Its developers are hoping to launch in the Mac App Store soon for $0.99 with new features and a revamped user interface ready to go on day one.
For now, Continuity Keypad remains in review at Apple — and it’s not hard to foresee problems. First, this looks like something Apple would ship; the beta dialer (below) looked nearly identical to what you’d see on an iPhone. That’s probably why a redesigned version (above) is what’s been submitted to Apple. And having “Continuity” right in the name might pose problems as well. Apple typically doesn’t like third-party developers encroaching on its own branding terms and PR speak. Third, you could argue that this absolutely duplicates functionality that’s already built into Yosemite, even if it’s slightly hidden.
Tacking a $0.99 price onto all of that makes everything more complicated. Free might be a wiser path to pursue if approval is the goal. Still, it seems like a dialer app should exist for people who want it, so hopefully Continuity Keypad can eventually find its way into the Mac App Store. Even if gets caught in limbo, you can grab the beta now.
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