With macOS Sonoma and iOS 17, FaceTime becomes more fun and more productive. Apple’s service is enriched with an answering machine function, funny video effects and professional screen sharing options. The majority of these new features are actually available for most video conferencing applications, which will make macOS Sonoma an interesting system for those who spend their days on Zoom, Teams and other Webex.
Leave a message on the FaceTime answering machine (iOS 17)
When you make a FaceTime call from an iPhone running iOS 17 (or an iPad running iPadOS 17) and your correspondent does not answer, you now have the option of leaving them an audio or video message. Concretely, after an unanswered call (or if your correspondent has refused the call), you can select a new option to record a video. A five-second countdown will then start, after which you can explain to your contact the purpose of your call.
After recording your video, you can view it and optionally redo it if you prefer. If it suits you, all you have to do is send it by pressing the green arrow. You also have the option of saving the video to your photo library, whether you sent it or not.
For his part, your correspondent will receive a notification informing him of the arrival of a video message. By opening this notification, he will be able to play your video then call you or send you a text message quickly thanks to two dedicated buttons. He will also have the option of saving the video in his photo library. Messages from the “answering machine” are listed in the FaceTime application, in the same way as calls.
The maximum length of video messages is three minutes. It is normally possible to send audio-only messages, but I did not find how to do it during my tests. This may be a shortcoming of the first beta of iOS 17. And it makes sense since it’s new to iOS 17, but you can’t leave an audio message or video to one person on iOS 16 or earlier.
Reactions that work (iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma)
Find FaceTime video calls dull, even with Memojis? You can now brighten up your videoconferences with Reactions, i.e. animations that occupy all or part of the screen. There are eight in total: heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, balloons, rain, confetti, lasers and fireworks. These are partly the same as the screen effects available in Message.
If you want to use these effects, which are only available with the front camera, you must first activate them: to do this, during a FaceTime video call, open the iOS 17 control center, then tap “Video effects in the top left and select “Reactions”.
From there, you have two different ways to wow your contacts. The first is through the Reactions panel which is opened by long-pressing your thumbnail; all you have to do is press one of the icons to make balloons, hearts or other appear. Animations adapt to the scene; for example, fireworks and rain don’t obscure you, they appear in the background.
The second way to activate a Reaction is to make a gesture: make a heart with your hands to make hearts appear, the V for victory to make balloons fly away, or raise two thumbs up to trigger the fireworks. Your correspondent can see the effects even if they are not using iOS 17.
FaceTime: here’s how to activate the 3D effects of iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma
Reactions cannot be created with all devices running iOS/iPadOS 17, they require at least an iPhone 12, iPad 10, iPad Air 4, iPad mini 6 or iPad Pro 2021.
These effects are not limited to FaceTime, they can also be used in other video calling applications, as I have seen with Snapchat, Skype and WhatsApp. Third-party apps don’t currently have a menu dedicated to Reactions, so the only way to make them appear is to make the right gestures. Finally, note that the Reactions setting in the control center applies to all apps: either they can be used everywhere, or they can be used nowhere.
Reactions are also available on macOS Sonoma, as long as you use the webcam of an Apple Silicon Mac or the Continuity camera function with at least an iPhone 12 on any Mac. During a FaceTime video call, click the camera icon in the menu bar to open the video menu, then click Reactions. You can then trigger the effects by making gestures or by clicking on the icons in the menu.
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