It was one of the features that Apple had extensively discussed during the WWDC keynote: in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave you can be faceted with up to 32 people at once. However, the function was lacking in all prior operating system betas, which made us doubt whether it would make the final release. Now Apple has confirmed our doubts. Group FaceTime has been removed from the first release of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave. It is now scheduled for iOS 12.1 or 12.2 and macOS 10.14.1 or 10.14.2
Just like Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2
That Apple postpones already presented functions is not particularly . It happened before with Messages in iCloud (presented for iOS 10, release in 11.4) and AirPlay 2 (presented for iOS 11, release in 11.4). Let’s hope it will not take long before we can make video calls with several people at the same time.
The other features that Apple had presented for FaceTime, such as transforming yourself into an Animoji during a conversation, will also be included in the final release. These are already part of the current betas.
Group FaceTime
With Skype, probably the biggest competitor of FaceTime, you can already call many people at the same time for a long time. However, a unique feature of FaceTime was the way the different video images were displayed. If you make a lot of noise or move a lot, your video image will increase with the other users. If, on the other hand, you have just walked away and nothing happens, your image will be reduced.
Would you like to know more about the new features of iOS 12? We have a large review article as well as several reports of the changes in each beta .