FaceTime is coming to Android and Windows...sort of.
As part of an iOS 15 presentation at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) today, Apple said iOS users will be able to create links to FaceTime chats that they can share with Android and Windows users. People on those platforms can jump on the call from the Chrome or Edge browser; no FaceTime app for Android or Windows just yet.
Links can be shared via Messages, email, WhatsApp, or as an event via the Calendar app. Video calls will remain encrypted, even in the browser. The feature sounds a bit like Zoom or Google Meet, which allow people to create links to direct chats. At present, the only way to start a FaceTime chat is through the dedicated app on iOS, iPadOS, or macOS.
Apple is known for keeping its services inside its own ecosystem, though it has branched out to other platforms with things like Apple Music and Apple TV+. Recently, the idea of iMessage on Android made headlines during Apple's App Store battle with Epic Games. But Apple execs shot down that idea in emails introduced as evidence.
"Moving iMessage to Android will hurt us more than help us," wrote Apple Fellow Phil Schiller. SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi also weighed in by explaining, "iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones."
Also on tap for FaceTime in iOS 15, meanwhile, is spatial audio, voice isolation, grid view, portrait mode, and SharePlay, which will let people listen to music and watch video together, as well as share their screens for troubleshooting and other purposes.