To the casual user this will all likely appear as utter gibberish, but it’s useful for developers in particular. The Console Log data updates rapidly as events are occurring on the iOS device, for example if you’re connecting to or disconnecting from a wi-fi router, or disabling cellular connectivity, or opening or closing apps, or initiating a process that you know will trigger an app crash, data relevant to those events will all immediately appear on screen.

Console Log data will begin showing up immediately for the connected iOS device.

From the Console app sidebar, look under the ‘Devices’ section and select the iPhone or iPad that is connected to the Mac.

Open the “Console” app on Mac OS, found in the /Applications/Utilities/ directory.

Connect the iPhone or iPad you want to view logs for to a Mac by using a USB connection, be sure to unlock the iOS device as well.

Be sure the iOS device is powered on as well. You will need an iPhone or iPad, a Mac, and a USB cable to get started.

And it’s possible that even more casual yet curious tinkerer-types may find it interesting to browse through, even if the data is largely irrelevant to them and their device usage. Browsing through log data is generally only useful for developers and advanced users, either for troubleshooting or diagnostic purposes, but it may have broader applications for some other environments too.

Location of mac log files