Video calls

make video calls with anyone who uses an Apple device, or group call lots of people at once

FaceTime

Free From Apple (built-in to iOS and macOS) Features Group calls + Handoff + memoji There are several options for making video calls on a Mac or iOS device. Microsoft’s Skype, pretty much owns the business market, and is a great choice if you need to call people who don’t use an Apple device. However, our overall favourite is FaceTime. The fact that it comes preloaded on iOS and macOS means you don’t have to worry about keeping it updated. And it also means you can be sure that Apple device-owning friends and family will have it set up and ready to go. FaceTime automatically has access to your contacts and can also be activated from the Messages and Phone apps.

FaceTime handles incoming calls intelligently while you’re on a video call, allowing you to ditch the current call and accept the new one, put the current call on hold to accept the new one, or send the new one to voicemail.

Big time FaceTime

Our favourite feature, however, is group calling. FaceTime now allows you to call up to 31 other people simultaneously, making it very useful for conference calls. You might not want to use Animoji, Memoji, or other effects on those business calls, but they’re great when chatting informally. And if others on a call use Memoji that amuse you, you can grab the video call as a Live Photo.

FaceTime’s support for Handoff is another reason it gets the nod here. You can start a call on your Mac and then, if it takes longer than you expected, pick it up on your iPhone when you head out the door.

Facetime handles incoming calls intelligently while you’re on a call