Apple, the Cupertino based tech giant on Monday night held its annual developer conference WWDCC 2021, which introduced the latest iterations of the company's iOS, iPad OS, macOS and watchOS. The latest version of iOS 15 promises to offer a wide range of features and updates, such as covering messages and the interface as a whole.
As part of the new version, Apple is bringing major changes to the FaceTime application, complete with a facelift and a bunch of new features.
The key differentiator is the cross-platform availability of FaceTime, something users have been asking for over a long period of time. In case you are wondering as to how this works, FaceTime users that are on non-iOS products can now join the chat via the web on Android or Windows to gain access to the particular meeting.
Apart from this, Apple also stated that a new grid view facility is coming for video calls. The app also supports spatial audio which can offer more audible and natural audio during the particular call as well as a new voice isolation feature that will isolate the speaker's voice. The portrait mode has also to arrived in FaceTime.
As is implied, users will now be able to blur out the background, just like you can do on Zoom and other video conferencing platforms via a particular skin or filter.
Are There Any Other New Features with FaceTime
Another interesting update for FaceTime is called SharePlay. The feature will allow users to stream content with their group of friends or family in a simultaneous manner.
Participants will also be able to control a few playback related features for OTT platforms. Apple has announced the availability of SharePlay API for third-party apps that are in use. It has partnered with major OTT platforms such as Disney+ and HBO Max. The company has also decided to provide support for Apple Music and Apple TV Plus.
One final issue that used to plague FaceTime users was in relation to scheduling such meets when alternatives on Android such as Google Meet and Zoom offered an option to schedule a meeting for a future date and time. With the new update, the company is announcing a new feature called FaceTime Links.
With the feature, users will now be able to provide other participants with links to join the meeting on a future date, meaning that the woes of preparing for a meeting beforehand have now become a thing of the past.
