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

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
fortnite apple logo 2

Epic Resubmits Fortnite to U.S. App Store After Not Hearing From Apple for 120+ Hours

Wednesday May 14, 2025 1:01 pm PDT by
On Friday, Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and since then, we've been waiting to see if Apple would approve the game and allow it back on the iPhone and the iPad. There's been no word from Apple so far, but Epic Games opted to pull its first App Store review request, and has now resubmitted Fortnite. Fortnite leaker Shiina shared the news, with the information reposted by...

Top Rated Comments

seat_hydrant Avatar
38 months ago
Does this work for normal phone calls and FaceTime Audio calls?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
38 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
38 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
38 months ago
This sounds like it will be very useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kobberrød Avatar
38 months ago
Need this for WhatsApp and Google Meet!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
38 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)