Apple is breaking down barriers, and is finally making FaceTime available to non-Apple users. At WWDC 2021, Apple announced the upcoming FaceTime web app, allowing Windows and Android users to use FaceTime.
FaceTime With Friends Across Platforms
As a part of the iOS 15 update, FaceTime is getting a Zoom-esque overhaul. Apple unveiled a FaceTime web app that users can access across platforms, as well as a scheduling tool that lets you connect to meetings with a link.
This means that FaceTime users on Mac or iOS can generate a link to a FaceTime meeting, and then send it to users on Windows or Android. The Windows and Android users can click that link to access FaceTime from their web browsers.
iOS 15 Brings Even More Features to FaceTime
Along with cross-platform accessibility, Apple also debuted a number of other exciting features that improve the audio and video quality while using FaceTime.
You'll soon be able to use FaceTime in Portrait Mode, the same mode that you may use to take pictures on your iPhone. Just like it does for your pictures, the camera will focus on your face while blurring the background.
FaceTime is also getting spatial audio that will enhance the "realness" of your call. You'll now hear your callers' voices based on where they are on the screen. New microphone modes are also coming to FaceTime, letting you easily drown out background noise.
Lastly, Apple introduced SharePlay for FaceTime. This feature lets you listen to music, share your screen, or watch TV shows and movies with your friends on FaceTime.
You can use SharePlay on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even on your Apple TV, all while watching or listening to the same media at the same time. The feature also comes with shared controls, so that means anyone can pause or play the content at any time. Plus, picture-in-picture mode will let you watch your friends' reactions and the media simultaneously.
So far, Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, Paramount+, TikTok, Twitch, and more, will support SharePlay.
We'll have to wait a bit until we see any of these FaceTime features go live. There's no set date for the release of iOS 15, but it's expected sometime this fall.
FaceTime Gets a Facelift
iOS 15 is bringing an entirely new layer to FaceTime. Apple is transforming FaceTime into a tool that is not only used for one-on-one calls, but also for professional meetings and group movie nights.
And now that FaceTime has the ability to transcend platforms, it will become much more accessible, potentially threatening the reign of video calling kings like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.