FaceTime is now far better on the iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020 and older models
From the iPhone 8 onwards
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One of the new features offered by theiPhone 12range was FaceTime HD, which is simply the ability to make FaceTime video calls in 1080p quality. Now thoughApplehas brought this feature to older models, so you won’t need an iPhone 12 to use it.
MacMagazine(a Brazilian website) noticed that Apple had included the feature in theiOS 14.2update. Oddly, there’s no mention of it in the update text, but Apple’s official spec pages for theiPhone 8onwards now mention FaceTime HD.
So if you have any iPhone from 2017’s iPhone 8 through to theiPhone 11range andiPhone SE (2020), you should now be able to make use of FaceTime HD.
Only on Wi-Fi
It’s worth noting however that FaceTime HD is only available over Wi-Fi on these phones. With the iPhone 12 range you can additionally get it on 5G, but 5G isn’t supported on older models, and no iPhone allows for FaceTime HD on 4G or 3G.
It’s surprising that Apple didn’t make a bigger deal about this feature, and that it’s only been noticed a month after iOS 14.2 started rolling out, as it should make a significant difference to video call quality.
If you’ve got a supported device with up to date software you can see for yourself – just start a FaceTime video call over Wi-Fi. Note however that FaceTime HD isn’t supported on iPads, but you never know, maybe a future software update will add it for them too.
ViaPhone Arena
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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
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