Handoff Lets You Swap FaceTime Calls Between Devices in iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura

[MacRumors]

In iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura, the FaceTime app finally supports Handoff, which means FaceTime calls can be swapped from one device to another.

If you get a FaceTime call on your iPhone while you're out of the house, you can answer it on the go and then swap over to the larger screen of a Mac when you return home. Or you can answer a call on your Mac and transfer over to an iPhone or iPad for a more portable FaceTime experience.

When a FaceTime call is handed off, connected Bluetooth headphones will transition to the new device too, so your call is not interrupted by the transfer.

Apple in FaceTime is also adding support for Live Captions, which let you see automatically transcribed dialogue during FaceTime calls. Live captions are available in English and are limited to the iPhone 11 and later, iPad with A12 Bionic and later, and Macs with Apple silicon.

Along with these new features, Apple is adding a "Collaboration" option that can be activated during a FaceTime call. Collaboration can be started during an active FaceTime call and it can be used with apps that include Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, and Safari. Third-party apps will also be able to support Collaboration.

Article Link: Handoff Lets You Swap FaceTime Calls Between Devices in iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura

 

[Think|Different]

Overdue but at least they found the code to copy and paste over now.

 

[_Spinn_]

This sounds like it will be very useful.

 

[kobberrød]

Need this for WhatsApp and Google Meet!

 

[roland.g]

I think the bigger thing if I have this right is that you can use your iPhone camera for a FaceTime call on the Mac for those with a Mac Mini / Studio / Pro who don't have a webcam but want to use their display as their screen.

Am I correct that the phone will be the camera and the connected monitor will be the FaceTime screen interface?

 

[seat_hydrant]

Does this work for normal phone calls and FaceTime Audio calls?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I think the bigger thing if I have this right is that you can use your iPhone camera for a FaceTime call on the Mac for those with a Mac Mini / Studio / Pro who don't have a webcam but want to use their display as their screen.

Am I correct that the phone will be the camera and the connected monitor will be the FaceTime screen interface?

It appeared so. iDevice will be equivalent to a built-in camera, presumably microphone too and you'll see the other person(s) on your Mac screen. This seems like a fantastic feature because it can use a much superior camera than any built-in ones and basically bring easy FaceTime to many monitors without a camera at all.

The big surprise to me is that this wasn't also announced as a tvOS feature. I can't begin to count how many wishes I've read to get FaceTime working with the TV screen. Since the Belkin hook will have to be pretty flexible to work with any screen and TVs are just one big monitor screen, this seems like an obvious feature to work into tvOS too. If so, I'd buy one Belkin hook to just leave on the TV and another for the desktop monitor.

It's wireless, presumably working via airplay or something pretty similar. Why NOT make AppleTV work just like the Mac will work for this?

 

[steve09090]

Continuity Camera for the AppleTV is what I want to see. It’s about time we could do FaceTime on the big screen. At the moment I (Grudgingly) use Facebook Portal TV to connect to loved ones who live a long way away and it works great. But I’d much rather do it using FaceTime.

 

[jmonster]

Continuity Camera for the AppleTV is what I want to see. It’s about time we could do FaceTime on the big screen. At the moment I (Grudgingly) use Facebook Portal TV to connect to loved ones who live a long way away and it works great. But I’d much rather do it using FaceTime.

I think the problem is that your attention would be at the tv and not the phone, giving people a very awkward and unflattering view of you. It only really suits one side of the conversation

Well, unless you attach your phone to the tv… ok I’m sold.

 

[rubberfish]

Microsoft Teams already kinda does this.

 

[steve09090]

I think the problem is that your attention would be at the tv and not the phone, giving people a very awkward and unflattering view of you. It only really suits one side of the conversation

Well, unless you attach your phone to the tv… ok I’m sold.

Using FB Portal, when a person on the TV looks at you, it’s like they’re looking right at you. I don’t understand the magic. There are obviously heaps of Microsoft Apps out there that connect to TV's in a business setting. Why can’t it be on the Apple TV on one of the best video messaging apps out there? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Microsoft Teams already kinda does this.

Yeah. It’s a mystery.

 

[hagjohn]

I can do this on MS Teams. I tend to use it a lot.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I think the problem is that your attention would be at the tv and not the phone, giving people a very awkward and unflattering view of you. It only really suits one side of the conversation

Well, unless you attach your phone to the tv… ok I’m sold.

That's how it is demoed to work. Apple says Belkin clip on monitor (so think TV as monitor), iDevice goes into the clip to put the camera above the rim of the monitor (TV). This is very similar to the positioning of the camera in a MBpro- right above the screen. Just like FaceTime on a MBpro, the person(s) at the other end would see you seeming to look right at them and you would see them looking right at you (but on your TV screen). Presumably, iDevice microphone would capture you talking to them and whatever speakers you are using with an AppleTV would play their talk to your ears.

Now the other piece of this Continuity is simply shifting FaceTime started on an iDevice to being on a monitor. Obviously that won't work "tossed" to a TV unless the TV gets a front-facing camera roughly center and just above it. But again, that's where the Belkin clip + iDevice comes into play... if Apple would make it work with a TV and maybe the AppleTV instead of only a Mac and monitor attached to a Mac.

I would really LOVE to see this happen- more so than making this work on Macs + Mac monitors- but there wasn't actually a word said about THIS use of the technology, nor any new information saying yay or nay yet. Nevertheless, it seems only a matter of time to make this also work with a TV & AppleTV... if not tvOS 16 maybe 17 or 18.

It seems a certainty that this WILL work if say a MB/Mini/Studio is attached to the TV and using TV as main monitor- just like any other Mac hooked to a regular monitor. So the real trick in this idea is simply getting an AppleTV to stand in for the Mac portion of this. Make tvOS cover that and it should work the same as Mac + Mac Monitor.

 

[steve09090]

I would really LOVE to see this happen- more so than making this work on Macs + Mac monitors- but there wasn't actually a word said about THIS use of the technology, nor any new information saying yay or nay yet. Nevertheless, it seems only a matter of time to make this also work with a TV & AppleTV... if not tvOS 16 maybe 17 or 18.

That’s why I got the FB Portal TV. Am I a fan of using FB for anything? No but you can cover the camera and turn off the device (it promises). But it works really really well. Apple added a bunch of features that are ‘so-called’ Covid-19 friendly but not this important family connection.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Right... and if you read lots of threads here, it does not take very long to find someone dreaming of a way to bring FaceTime and AppleTV together. I've seen wants of:

• a camera in a new AppleTV... but that only works if you position your AppleTV very carefully and specifically, ideally just above the top center or below the bottom center of the TV. People hide AppleTVs BEHIND their TVs or have them far left or right in cabinets, etc, so this option seems undesirable except for only a niche few.
• some kind of soundbar/appletv/router/popcorn maker/shoe shiner/et all but that tends to only favor those who use a soundbar (and any kind of appletv + speaker integration dooms the speaker portion to probably not being usable when the appletv guts get too old for upgrades).
• adding a USB port back to AppleTV, rolling out an original iSight-like camera for the TV and connecting it to that USB port. That would give a fair amount of flexibility to WHERE one could put the AppleTV itself and seemed best option until this showed up.
• some kind of original iSight-like camera powered by a USB jack on the TV and wirelessly airplaying the video it sees during a Facetime/Skype/Zoom call to an appletv to work like this. The weak link here is depending on TVs to have powered USB. Else user would need to plug in a USB charger somewhere. This seemed like a pretty good option too until this showed up.
• etc.

If you judge by people comments here and on other Apple fan sites, this is a HIGH DEMAND want not well served in any Apple-like way. And this new option seems an IDEAL way to scratch this itch in a "just works" way.

 

[Caviar_X]

Does this work for facetime audio!!?

 

[Biglethal69]

Let’s just hope Apple does not take 11 months like universal control to Implement the feature working correctly without being beta for the next year.

 

[Mjalexander]

I am also interested in this, but for years have just used a Mac Mini as a Plex media server connected via HDMI to the family room big screen and sound bar with a good old Logitech 1080p web cam…not ideal but has worked just fine for FaceTime, Skype and other video over IP calls with friends and family. YMMV. 😉

 

[roland.g]

If Continuity Camera doesn’t come to tvOS 16, which at this point it doesn’t sound like it is, short term solution would be a Mac Mini or other Mac running Ventura and using the TV as a monitor.

 

[fel10]

Definitely one of the top features I’m looking forward to using

 

[44267547]

Yeah, Apple really nailed iOS 16 this year with the execution with user-integration between iOS, iPad OS and macOS and Apple Watch.

More specifically, there are a lot of times where I don’t want to carry my iPhone with me and preferably transfer the call to my iPad if I’m more stationary.

 

[boston04and07]

Does this work for normal phone calls and FaceTime Audio calls?

I’ve been trying to find the answer of this as well…

 

[gigapocket1]

Mac Mini, wireless camera, + Airplay.

 

[Johnny907]

This should have been a feature back when handoff was first launched.

 

[allenvanhellen]

And FaceTime audio from/to Apple Watch to/from other devices?