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For years, FaceTime was the envy of Android users, due to its superior video and audio quality. In an interesting turn of events, Apple slightly loosened its grips on iMessage in 2021. The change allowed people with an Android phone, tablet, or Windows PC to use FaceTime in their web browser. Apple users can also set these browsers as their default apps, which is a big step since the company doesn't allow the replacement of its native apps.
How to turn off SharePlay on your iPhone
SharePlay is enabled for FaceTime, but that's making some Apple users unhappy: Here's how to turn it off
If you've been diligent in updating iOS this year, you may have noticed that your iPhone activated a feature called SharePlay for its media services when you use FaceTime. There are ways to get rid of ShareTime if you don't want to use it. We go over the most effective steps, if any of these affect your Android phone, and what else you should know.
FaceTime is a significant benefit of owning an Apple device. While multi-platform apps like Google Meet offer a reliable way to make video calls, there may be times when it's best to join a FaceTime call from your Google Pixel or Android phone rather than a video chat app available through the Play Store.
How to record a call on FaceTime
It takes some prep, but you can record a call in FaceTime: Here's everything you should know
Some FaceTime calls are more important than others. They are so important that you may want to record them to save for the long term. There isn't an obvious way to do this, given that FaceTime has upfront features like leaving a personalized video as a message. There are ways to get a FaceTime recording of a conversation if you set it up correctly. Here are the ins and outs of recording on FaceTime, if it works on your Android phone, and other important facts you should know.
iOS 15 brings spatial audio, SharePlay, and grid view to FaceTime
Making virtual hangouts feel a little more real
For many of us, video calls have become a daily part of our lives. Anyone who owns any Apple devices can tell you how fantastic FaceTime is for reaching out to friends and family. As part of iOS 15, Apple is adding a ton of changes to FaceTime, including spatial audio for more natural-sounding conversations, an all-new grid view, and a SharePlay API that makes it easy to watch videos, share your screen, and more.
FaceTime is getting Android support, but there's a catch
Apple is bringing FaceTime to Android... via the browser
At WWDC 2021 today, Apple announced that its popular FaceTime video call service will be getting a ton of new features, but one in particular caught our attention: Android compatibility. Sort of.
Of the two communication apps that Google announced at I/O, Duo surely seemed like the less interesting one. Video calls have been done again and again, and by now, if you have someone you want to talk to and see at the same time, odds are you already have your preferred way of doing that. But my last few days with Duo have shown me another side to the story. Duo isn't trying to revolutionize video calls, it just wants to approach them from a more modern perspective, one that builds on our smartphone-carrying habits, our needs for immediacy, and our disdain for complexity.
As a major component of what appears to be a big push to revamp its messaging offerings, Google has announced Duo, a video calling app. As the name suggests, it is focused solely on two-person video conversations.