Feature Request: Phone Screen Mirroring via QR Code (Same Wi-Fi) for Recording

[xsourabhsharma]

Hey, I'd love to suggest a feature that I think would be really useful for Recordly users

the ability to mirror a phone's screen over local Wi-Fi (same network) and use it as a recording source directly inside Recordly.

Basically, the flow would be something like this:

• In Recordly on the laptop, you click "Add Source" → select something like "Phone Screen (Mirror via Wi-Fi)"
• Recordly shows a QR code on screen
• You scan that QR code with your phone's camera (or through a lightweight companion app)
• Both devices connect over the local Wi-Fi network no internet needed, no USB cables
• Your phone screen streams into Recordly as a recording source, and you can record it just like any other source
• The phone stream is rendered inside a device frame (iPhone portrait or iPad landscape) similar to the style shown in these reference mockups:

[Image: iPad Pro 13-inch M4 Landscape - Content Core]

[Image: iPhone 16 Pro Max Vertical - Content Core]

The frames would look something like the Content Core style clean, minimal, with a subtle gradient. Device frame fitting would support:

Format	Device	Orientation
Portrait	iPhone 15 Pro Max (Dynamic Island)	Vertical
Landscape	iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)	Horizontal

From a technical standpoint, here's what I'm thinking:

• iOS: Use ReplayKit (RPBroadcastSampleHandler) for capturing screen
• Android: Use MediaProjection API
• Transport: WebRTC for low-latency streaming, or WebSocket + canvas as a fallback
• QR code encodes a local URL like recordly://local-IP:PORT/session/TOKEN
• Token auto-expires after pairing for security

Some UX considerations that would make this feel polished:

• Device frame is optional there could be a toggle to turn it off for raw screen capture
• Should work fully offline on the local network, no internet dependency
• All Recordly post-processing features (zoom, cursor overlay, exports, etc.) should apply to the phone stream as well

I think this would open up a lot of creative possibilities like recording phone UI demos, app workflows, or mobile content directly within Recordly without needing a separate screen recording app or complicated cable setups.

Would love to hear if this is something on the roadmap or if it could be considered for a future release. Happy to provide more details or help in any way!

Thanks!

[webadderall]

This is a great idea! Love it but do keep in mind ReplayKit on iOS does not support recording display

[xsourabhsharma]

That's a fair point thanks for flagging the ReplayKit limitation!

I did some digging and the key thing is: RPScreenRecorder (the basic ReplayKit API) only captures the app's own screen, not the full system display. But there's actually a path forward using a Broadcast Upload Extension (BUE) with RPBroadcastSampleHandler.

With BUE, you can capture the full iOS screen even when the app is in the background, and receive CMSampleBuffer frames that you can stream over local Wi-Fi. The flow would be:

1. Ship a companion iOS app with a Broadcast Upload Extension
2. User starts a broadcast from Control Center (Screen Mirroring/Recording option)
3. BUE captures full-screen CMSampleBuffer frames
4. Stream them via WebRTC or WebSocket over the local network to Recordly on the desktop
5. Recordly renders them as a recording source

This is exactly how apps like AirServer, Reflector, and screen mirroring tools work on iOS. The main trade-off is that it requires a companion iOS app (users would install it from App Store), and iOS will show the broadcast permission UI.

On Android, MediaProjection already gives us full screen access without needing a separate extension.

So yeah iOS is trickier, but I don't think it's a blocker. Would love to hear your thoughts!