Testing FaceTime on Apple TV With Belkin's New MagSafe iPhone Mount
Belkin this week released a new iPhone Mount with MagSafe, which is designed to attach to a television for use with the Apple TV 4K. The MagSafe Mount lets you use your iPhone as a camera for your Apple TV on FaceTime calls.
Apple actually showed off this mount when it introduced FaceTime on Apple TV, but it hasn't been available for purchase until now, and there hasn't been an official solution for mounting an iPhone to a television set.
Priced at $49.95, the Belkin iPhone Mount has a bracket that is able to attach to a TV or a display that's up to four inches thick, or it can be used with a pedestal as a standalone mount next to a TV.
It's super simple to use the mount, and you just need to pop it on the TV and then stick your MagSafe-enabled iPhone to the mount. You can adjust the tilt from -20 to +30 degrees for the perfect filming angle, and it works in either portrait or landscape mode.
We tested the mount with FaceTime, but it is also compatible with any Continuity Camera-supported apps. The iPhone activates automatically as the camera in FaceTime or another supported app, and all you need to do is be signed in with the same Apple ID on both devices.
Note that using an iPhone as a camera for an Apple TV requires the second-generation Apple TV 4K or later with tvOS 17, and an iPhone (or iPad) running iOS 17 or later.
Using a TV for FaceTime is great if you're FaceTiming with multiple people or for SharePlay sessions, and there are options to set up a split-screen layout when using FaceTime. The mount and the Continuity Camera feature work with Center Stage, and reactions like fireworks are supported.
Large-screen FaceTime is definitely an experience that's worth trying out if you tend to do a lot of video calling. Apple is selling the Belkin Mount for $49.95, and it's shipping out almost immediately.
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Top Rated Comments
Option #2 is you can also use buds just like you can when making a FaceTime call with the phone itself. Audio & Mic are then those associated with the buds.
I have tested this myself and the other end hears my words as good as making a FaceTime call from that distance without involving the TV & AppleTV.
An easy way to test without doing an actual FaceTime call is to start shooting a video using the rear phone cameras, prop it up on the front your TV, go sit wherever you usually sit (where you would want to be be for TV FaceTime) "fake it" by staring at your TV screen and saying something to capture some spoken words. Then, go get your phone, play the video back and what you see & hear should be pretty close to what those on the other end of a call will see & hear.