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
19 months ago
Does this work for normal phone calls and FaceTime Audio calls?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
19 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
19 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
19 months ago
This sounds like it will be very useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kobberrød Avatar
19 months ago
Need this for WhatsApp and Google Meet!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
19 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

Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions. As noted by The Washington Post,...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Cyber Monday Deals Feature 2022

40+ Apple Cyber Week Deals for AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 26, 2023 9:47 am PST by
Cyber Week has taken the place of Black Friday, and you'll find some of the same deals still around for the next few days, although many from Black Friday have now expired. This includes dozens of record low prices on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iPhone, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
General Black Friday Deals 2022 Green

40+ Apple Black Friday Deals Still Available for AirPods, iPhone, iPad and More

Friday November 24, 2023 5:01 am PST by
Black Friday 2023 has officially ended, but we're still tracking some of the best deals of the year on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, and many more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically, in this article we're...