Apple Removes Group FaceTime From iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, Says It'll Launch Later This Year

Apple today removed Group FaceTime from the latest iOS 12 and macOS Mojave betas, which were released this morning, and has instead decided to release the feature at a later date.

One of the key features of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, Group FaceTime is designed to allow up to 32 people to chat together at one time via FaceTime audio or FaceTime video.


The feature has been available in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave since the first betas became available in June, and it's not clear why Apple has decided to push the feature back to a later date. Group FaceTime worked well in our testing, but we also did not push the limits with a large group of people.

In release notes for both macOS Mojave and iOS 12, Apple says the feature has been removed from the initial releases of macOS Mojave and iOS 12 and "will ship in a future software update later this fall."

With the release of iOS 11, Apple also ended up delaying several features that were initially announced as part of the update until later in the year, including Apple Pay Cash, AirPlay 2, and Messages in iCloud, three significant iOS 11 features that did not come out until months after iOS 11 launched.

Apple Pay Cash later launched in December as part of the iOS 11.2 update, while Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2 were delayed until the launch of iOS 11.4 in May. Apple has said the Group FaceTime feature will come later in the fall, which means it should come in one of the first or second iOS 12 updates.

Related Forums: macOS Mojave, iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

Gyroworld Avatar
73 months ago
So we'll see it right before WWDC 2019
Score: 72 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chri5dub12 Avatar
73 months ago
Take that Samsung commercial!
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnyslats Avatar
73 months ago
AirPlay 2 all over again
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
73 months ago
Anyone remember a time when Apple didn't announce features before they were ready? This has become more and more common under Timmy The Bean Counter sadly....
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrumApple Avatar
73 months ago
Apple, your reputation is getting worse and worse. Stop announcing things and then never delivering, or delivering way late. Maybe it will arrive with AirPower? How stupid.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
73 months ago
Oh great, I guess we'll see this next May like we did with AirPlay 2.

You know Apple, you really don't have to make it work with 32 people at launch. You could start with 4 which is the max that 95% of people will probably use. 32 is insanity.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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