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

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.

facetime handoff
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.

Related Forums: iOS 16, macOS Ventura

Top Rated Comments

seat_hydrant Avatar
20 months ago
Does this work for normal phone calls and FaceTime Audio calls?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
20 months ago

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?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
steve09090 Avatar
20 months ago
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.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
20 months ago
This sounds like it will be very useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kobberrød Avatar
20 months ago
Need this for WhatsApp and Google Meet!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
20 months ago
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?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios stolen device protection

iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone

Tuesday December 12, 2023 10:20 am PST by
The first iOS 17.3 beta rolling out to developers today includes a new "Stolen Device Protection" feature that is designed to add an additional layer of security in the event someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained the device's passcode. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen reported about instances of thieves spying on a victim's iPhone...
iOS 17

33 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.2

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Apple has made available for download its major end-of-year iPhone software update, iOS 17.2, featuring a large number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 33 new things that your iPhone can do once you've installed the update. Check Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your device to get downloading. 1. Help You Keep a Daily ...
iPhone 16 Mock Back 1

iPhone 16 Early Prototypes: What Apple's Next-Generation iPhone Will Look Like

Tuesday December 12, 2023 3:07 pm PST by
With the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple introduced design changes like a curved frame and a frosted glass back. Information acquired by MacRumors suggests that Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 will build on these updates with modifications to the buttons and the camera layout. We have details on early pre-production designs for the iPhone 16, including a look at the variants and hardware...
CarPlay Phone Call

GM Says It's Nixing CarPlay to Make Drivers Safer

Tuesday December 12, 2023 1:47 pm PST by
Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) announced plans to phase out Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, with the company instead relying on an infotainment system co-developed with Google. This has not been a popular decision with iPhone users, and today, GM provided some additional insight into the decision in a discussion with MotorTrend. According to Tim...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Rumored to Have These 12 New Features

Monday December 11, 2023 10:46 am PST by
While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still over nine months away from launching, there are already several rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped new features and changes expected for the devices so far. These are some of the key changes rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models as of December 2023:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped...
Apple TV 2022 Feature Blue

Apple Releases tvOS 17.2 With Revamped Apple TV App

Monday December 11, 2023 9:58 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 17.2, the second major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out in September 2023. tvOS 17.2 comes more than a month after tvOS 17.1, an update that expanded the availability of the Enhanced Dialogue feature. tvOS 17.2 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌...
maxresdefault

Top Five Features in macOS Sonoma 14.2

Wednesday December 13, 2023 3:21 pm PST by
When Apple releases new software, iOS updates tend to get most of the attention, and there are sometimes useful new features in Mac updates that go under the radar. That's the case with macOS Sonoma 14.2. It doesn't have flashy features like the Journal app that came in iOS 17.2, but there are a number of useful improvements that make it worth installing. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube ...