There were more than 62 million downloads of video meeting and chat apps in a single week in March 2020.
COVID-19 has forced us to adapt and change the way we communicate. We went from in-person meetings, church services, networking events, and happy hours to trying them out virtually.
One of the tools that people use to connect with friends, colleagues, and loved ones is FaceTime. One of the newest features of the app is FaceTime group calls.
If you want to know how you can connect with more people at the same time, read on to learn how to make group calls on FaceTime.
FaceTime App Basics
FaceTime is a call app that allows users to make calls using audio or video. It first came out in 2010 along with the iPhone 4. It’s available for all Apple devices, including Mac computers.
More people are using FaceTime in light of COVID-19 restrictions. The fact is that FaceTime is used by grandparents to see their grandkids who live far away. Parents can chat with children all around the world.
Communications technology has come a long way over the last 20 years. Long-distance phone calls used to cost quite a bit to call the next state over.
Now with these chat apps, you just need an internet connection to make a video call for free. FaceTime also supports cellular networks, so you can make a FaceTime call on your iPhone or cellular-enabled iPad across LTE and 3G or 4G networks.
Keep in mind that if you have a limited cellular plan, FaceTime does use data, which is estimated at 2-3 MB per minute.
What makes FaceTime different from other video apps is that it only functions within Apple’s ecosystem. It makes it much easier for Apple to control the security standards for FaceTime calls.
As a result, FaceTime has end-to-end encryption, which Apple cannot touch. The data is only for the end users of the call.
Making Video Calls on FaceTime
Now that you understand why FaceTime is a fantastic app, you’ll want to start making calls from the app right away. It’s pretty simple to do so.
The first thing you need to do is to sign in using your Apple ID. You can do this from Settings -> FaceTime on your device.
Go to your iOS device and tap on the FaceTime icon. You’ll tap on the + button and enter the phone number or email address of the person you’d like to call. Tap on the Audio or Video button.
You may be in the middle of a phone call and decide that it would be easier and more fun to switch to video. On the call screen, tap on the FaceTime icon to convert your phone call into a FaceTime video call.
Apple has a fun feature for newer devices (iPhone 12 or later, iPad with face recognition technology) that lets you choose a Memoji and use it during the call. The Memoji is an animated character that you create to express your moods.
How to Make Group Calls on FaceTime
Group FaceTime calls is a feature that was added by Apple in 2018. It allows you to add up to 32 people on a single FaceTime call. That can be a family reunion, a large meeting, or a big virtual happy hour event.
Making a group call on FaceTime is easy. Make a FaceTime call as you would in the instructions above. Instead of typing in the contact information of one person, you’ll add multiple contacts by tapping on the + sign.
What if you want to make a group call from a Mac? This can come in handy if you need to have a work-related meeting or if you don’t want to connect on an iPad or iPhone.
You can find tips to make group calls at https://setapp.com/how-to/group-facetime-calls-on-mac or on Apple’s site.
Make Meeting Time Count
One of the most annoying things about technology is that people don’t quite understand how to use it. It’s common for people working from home to hold up a call because of technology issues. Worse still, the camera is angled poorly, so all you can see is a person’s forehead.
If you work for an organization and have wasted a ton of time during meetings, the company should have a set of instructions and guidelines for people to follow.
The first thing to do is to choose software that everyone has and is easy to use. As you can see, FaceTime is so easy to use, almost anyone can figure out how to use it.
You should provide detailed instructions to your team members to use the app. Even though it’s simple, people will undoubtedly make it complicated.
There should also be a set of guidelines for your team to follow. The first is to make sure that they are in an area with ample light. They should have guidelines on camera angles so you can see their faces.
It also helps to have people arrive and check-in 5 minutes early to make sure they don’t have technical issues. This ensures the meeting starts on time and you don’t waste time while someone is figuring out technology.
It’s easy for these incidents to derail the entire meeting. The most important thing that you can have is a meeting agenda and stick with it. It will limit time-wasting and keep everyone on task.
Fun with FaceTime Group Calls
FaceTime is a safe and secure application that you can use to connect with other Apple device users around the world. It doesn’t matter if you have a Mac, iPad, or iPhone. You can take full advantage of the FaceTime technology and features like FaceTime group calls.
Just remember that if you have a data plan, these calls over cellular networks can add up. You’ll be better off making the call over WiFi.
If you found this article useful, you’ll want to check out the Mobile Tech section for more technology news.
