Testing FaceTime on Apple TV With Belkin's New MagSafe iPhone Mount - MacRumors
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Testing FaceTime on Apple TV With Belkin's New MagSafe iPhone Mount

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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.

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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.

Tags: Belkin, FaceTime Guide

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Top Rated Comments

I
iamsikora
33 months ago
It should be $24.99 They are crazy
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
subjonas
33 months ago

That will work fine. Another good option is a tripod with an iDevice adapter... and then position the iDevice so that it is roughly in front of your TV screen's center... like an iDevice eclipse or center/middle Dynamic Island. Yes, that will cover some portion of the people on the other end of the conversation but will have you looking dead at them vs. putting the iDevice ABOVE or BELOW the screen to then make it look like you are looking DOWN a bit or UP over their heads respectively. This effect is less obvious when FaceTiming on smaller devices but as the screen gets much larger (like with a TV), the camera can be further from where you are looking, showing the effect more obviously. If you want to rig up anything to get camera closer to the center of the TV, it will look like you are looking right at them.

I have a couple of tripods around for video work anyway, so I just got the cheap adapter (example ('https://a.co/d/7uhp5YK')) and use one for this and it works fine.
It’s too bad you can’t use something like the old iSight camera, which would block your view the most minimally.


Attachment Image
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
dbwie
33 months ago
Why not set up the phone much closer to where you are sitting? That way you don’t have all the extraneous background, and the microphone should pick up your voice better, correct? When I use this, I put it on an end stand halfway between the TV and the couch where I am sitting.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
poematik13
33 months ago
Should have been 29.99 and released in 2020 when people actually had a reason to use this
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiranmk2 Avatar
kiranmk2
33 months ago
I've used this (with the phone propped up, not on a mount) and the audio on my end is fine because it comes through the TV speakers. Not sure how I came across to the other person though.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Veinticinco Avatar
Veinticinco
33 months ago
Yet another solution desperately seeking a problem.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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