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FaceTime FINALLY Comes To Android – But There’s A Catch…
With the release of iOS 15, Android users will be able to jump onto FaceTime calls with iPhone users. Here’s how it’ll work…
FaceTime for Android is one of the biggest Google searches on the web, indicating that A) Android users have FOMO about FaceTime, and B) Google’s video-calling apps don’t cut the mustard.
But here’s the thing: Apple has just confirmed that Android users (and Windows users too) will soon be able to join FaceTime calls.
But there’s a catch.
FaceTime (Kind of) Comes Android & Windows
FaceTime for Android will ONLY work on an invite-basis, meaning you, as an Android user, will have to be invited into a FaceTime chat.
If you are an Android user, you will not be able to instigate a FaceTime call. You’ll have to wait outside patiently until you’re invited in.
Apple is not releasing a native FaceTime app for Android (or Windows).
For this reason, in order to get into a FaceTime call, you will first need to be sent a link by someone with an iPhone or iPad.
Once you have that link, you can join the FaceTime call from your Android phone via your phone’s browser.
But you can only join the FaceTime chat once you have been approved by the host of the FaceTime call.
But once you have the link which can be sent via WhatsApp, email, text, or a calendar invite, you’re good to go.
And you don’t need an Apple ID either, just the shareable link and you can FaceTime with your iPhone-using friends on Android phones and Windows computers.
So, It’s A Bit Like Zoom Then?
Following the announcement of iOS 15 at Apple’s WWDC 2021, this feature was accurately described as copying Zoom – which it totally does.
Opening up FaceTime, especially during the current pandemic, makes sense not only from a PR perspective, but also from a user perspective.
FaceTime calls also extend beyond Apple devices with the ability to create a link from iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and share it through Messages, Calendar, Mail, or third-party apps, so anyone can join a FaceTime call from their web browser on Android and Windows devices.3 FaceTime calls on the web remain end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised.Apple
FaceTime’s new abilities make it a more agile and useable video-calling tool. Like Teams, Zoom, and Google’s Hangouts, you can now use FaceTime to make calls cross-platform, something Apple should have included years ago.
The increased use of video-calling tools, again, thanks to COVID, has made software like ZOOM massively important to businesses and consumers alike.
Even Google’s new Workspace – the rebranded G-Suite – is all about remote working and remote collaboration.
Never one to miss a trick, Apple has now tweaked FaceTime to better compete with these rising stars in the video-calling sector.
And given how popular FaceTime is, the move will also likely be a great marketing tool for Apple too.
We also have Apple Music on Android now as well, so perhaps this is the start of something new for Apple?
Perhaps the company is becoming more open in its old age?
Who knows, maybe we’ll start to get access to things like Pages and iCloud on Android in the not too distant future…
Also, be sure to check out how to blur the background on a FaceTime video call! And check out the answer to “What Is The Orange Dot On My iPhone?” here! And check out how to delete Calendar events on iPhone! And check out how to FaceTime on Android!