Apple Silently Added 1080p FaceTime Calls on Older iPhones with iOS 14.2
Dec. 3, 2020Applereleased iOS 14.2with over 100 new emojis, new wallpapers, and a slew of other features last month. However, one crucial quality-of-life improvement that Apple did not mention in its official release notes is theavailability of 1080p HD FaceTime calling on older iPhones.
As first spotted byMacMagazine, Apple has updated itsproduct comparison pageto clarify that older iPhones including iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XR, XS, XS Max, SE (second-gen), 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Maxnow support FaceTime calls at 1080p over Wi-Fi. Until now, FaceTime video calling was capped at 720p on these iPhones.
Meanwhile,iPhone 12 seriessupports 1080p FaceTime calls out of the box. Moreover, it even offers the same functionality over cellular networks if you’re in one of those regions with5Gconnectivity. To clarify,Apple doesn’t support 1080p FaceTime video calling over 4G networks.
Apple’s decision to enable HD FaceTime calls comes at a time when people are relying onvideo calling appsmore than ever before due to the coronavirus pandemic. Whether you’re away from home or want to catch up with your friends over FaceTime, the update is likely to make a substantial difference in terms of user experience.
It is indeed surprising how Apple missed out on mentioning this much-needed feature on its changelog. This single feature addition would’ve incentivized users to update to iOS 14.2 had they mentioned it in the release notes. Since you’re already reading this, now would be a great time to update your current iPhone to iOS 14.2 and enjoy crispier video calls.
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
