That’s handy to make sure you have the link available at the right time, to make it available on all your devices, and to let others access it via a shared calendar. If you’re scheduling a call, you can create a FaceTime link within an event in Calendar. (That may seem like an unnecessary extra step, but it ensures random trolls can’t join FaceTime calls whose links have been shared publicly.) After they hit the Join button, the organizer is notified that they’re waiting and can add them to the call.

If they’re running one of Apple’s latest operating systems, the call will also appear in the FaceTime app, under Upcoming.Įither way, people joining the call get a preview window in which they can adjust their video and mic settings. To join a call, all a recipient of the link has to do is tap or click the link. In Monterey, clicking the button presents a sharing menu with similar appropriate options. If you’re creating it in iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, you can add a name before copying or sharing the link in the share sheet.

To create a FaceTime link, launch the FaceTime app and use the Create Link button in the upper left. You can share FaceTime links like any other Web link, through Messages, email, discussion systems like Slack, or posting on a Web page. FaceTime links make it effortless to rejoin a call if you have to drop off or if something goes wrong, and they simplify switching from one device to another. That’s still possible, but it’s easier and more considerate to make and share a FaceTime link instead, which lets others join your call when they’re ready. No longer do you have to call others via FaceTime, an awkward approach left over from the days of landlines.

One of the smallest new features in FaceTime may be the most important. However, with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey, Apple has nearly brought FaceTime into feature parity with Zoom and others and it has even added a few features that break new ground. However, Apple’s FaceTime didn’t stack up well against Zoom and others due to its emulation of the telephone call experience, questionable interface decisions, and lack of cross-platform compatibility. It’s no exaggeration to say that videoconferencing went mainstream during the pandemic.

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