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Why is video conferencing so exhausting?
If it’s not Google Meet with colleagues, it’s Zoom hangouts with friends and FaceTime with family. The issue is, online video interactions are fundamentally different from face-to-face ones.
Apple Music's Beats 1 station will broadcast from hosts' homes
Office workers aren't the only ones who can work from home during the coronavirus pandemic -- radio DJs can do so, too. Show hosts on Beats 1, Apple Music's internet radio station, will be broadcasting from the safety of their homes starting today. According to Apple, they will use FaceTime on their iPhones to conduct interviews with popular musicians like Elton John and Hayley Williams. It's not clear whether or not the anchors will use iPhones to record the non-interview sections of their shows, but it would be surprising if they opted for smartphones over more professional audio equipment such as condenser microphones and preamps. However, exclusive programs from Stone Age's Josh Homme, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig and more will indeed be recorded on their iPhones.
Lebanon plans to charge a fee for internet voice calls
If you're planning a trip to Beirut, you might want to think carefully about starting an internet phone call. Lebanon's cabinet has agreed to implement a 20-cent daily fee for VoIP calls across a range of services, including FaceTime Audio and WhatsApp. The government believes it needs the cash -- it recently declared an "economic emergency" as it raced to secure funding and eliminate debts, and the internet calling fee is estimated to rake in a substantial $200 million per year.
Apple's new iOS 13 feature corrects your gaze during video calls
A video call is a great way to connect with friends and family when you can't physically be together. But even if you're staring directly at your loved one's face, there's still something a little off about the whole process. The way your phone's screen display and camera lens sync up means you're never quite able to look your conversational partner squarely in the eye. Until now, that is. Apple is allegedly working on a new feature that subtly adjusts your gaze during video calls, so it appears as if you're looking into the camera when you're actually looking at the screen.
Apple will pay the teenager who discovered the Group FaceTime bug
Apple has said it will pay the teen who discovered the Group FaceTime bug that let you listen in on someone before they answered a call. Grant Thompson, a 14-year-old high school student from Tucson, Arizona, discovered the flaw around two weeks ago while setting up a group chat with friends playing Fortnite. His mother Michele Thompson said she repeatedly tried to contact Apple about the issue through email and social media to no avail. The company got in touch with her a week ago, once news of the bug had gone viral online, by which point it had taken Group FaceTime offline.
Apple releases fix for the Group FaceTime bug
Apple has released iOS 12.1.4 which fixes the Group FaceTime bug that let you listen in on someone before they answered a call. Apple turned off the feature after reports of the bug emerged, and had said it would roll out a fix this week. You'll need to update to use Group FaceTime, which remains disabled for anyone running iOS 12.1.3 or earlier.
House committee wants answers from Apple about its FaceTime bug
Apple has some explaining to do. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is looking for answers from the tech giant regarding the recent Group FaceTime bug that allowed users to eavesdrop on others before they picked up a call. Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the head of a subcommittee on consumer protection and commerce, are giving Apple CEO Tim Cook until February 19th to respond to their questions.
Apple says Group FaceTime bug will be fixed next week
Apple announced Friday that it has come up with a fix for a bug in the Group FaceTime feature that allows users to listen in on the activity of others before they pick up the call. The company said a software update will be released next week that will fix the issue, according to BuzzFeed News. Group FaceTime has been disabled since the bug was discovered earlier this week.
New York investigates Apple's Group FaceTime privacy bug
You knew it was just a matter of time before Apple's Group FaceTime 'eavesdropping' bug drew the attention of politicians. New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation into the FaceTime flaw in hopes of understanding both its "failure to warn consumers" and reports of a "slow response" to the problem. Stated residents "need to know that their phones are safe," Governor Cuomo added.
A 14-year-old tried to warn Apple about the group FaceTime bug
Before the FaceTime bug that lets people listen in to others before the call starts blew up yesterday, a 14-year-old Arizona high schooler tried to warn Apple of the issue. According to the Wall Street Journal, Grant Thompson and his mother Michele spent more than a week trying to contact Apple but didn't make much progress with the company while trying to report the bug.
Apple's Group FaceTime is 'unavailable' after eavesdropping bug appears
Just in case you hadn't immediately disabled FaceTime after finding out about a bug that could allow callers to receive audio and even video before you picked up, it looks like Apple is trying to close the hole on its end. While the company already said a fix for the issue -- which affects iPhones, iPads and Macs -- is coming later this week, tonight its System Status page shows that Group FaceTime has been unavailable since 10:16 PM ET. When we tried to initiate a Group FaceTime call -- part of the issue behind the bug -- the calls just ended, although some have reported the bug is still active for them. Apple shut the service off for the time being, and based on our tests it should keep people from exploiting the issue Still, until everything has been addressed it's probably still a good idea to disable FaceTime so that people don't find out what you really say when their name pops up on Caller ID.
FaceTime bug lets you listen in before a call starts
Apple's FaceTime might make it a little too convenient to drop in on a friend. Reports have emerged of a bug that lets you listen to the other side's audio before a call has even started. All you have to do is start a FaceTime call, add a person, and choose your own phone number when prompted. If you try that, you effectively start a group call while the other side's device is still ringing. It's not necessarily eavesdropping, especially when the other side can hear you, but it could easily lead to catching someone off-guard.
Apple will release iOS 12.1 with Group FaceTime tomorrow
You won't have to wait until Apple's big iPad event to find out when iOS 12.1 will arrive. Apple has confirmed that the update will be available on October 30th (the day of the event) for all existing iOS 12-compatible devices. For most, the highlight will be the delayed Group FaceTime feature -- up to 32 people can chat at once, complete with a system that surfaces video based on who's speaking. You'll also be happy if you're an emoji fan, since Apple is adding more than 70 characters that include more hairstyles, animals and food.
Apple patent troll strikes again with FaceTime lawsuit
For such a genial component of Apple's ecosystem, FaceTime certainly attracts a lot of lawsuits from interested bodies. The latest is from Uniloc, a company with a collection of patents, a hotline to its lawyers and very little else. AppleInsider is reporting that the patent troll has filed a request for a jury trial, accusing Apple of infringing its intellectual property.
Google Duo lets iPad users call their Android friends
Since Duo is supposed to replace Hangouts as your all-purpose mobile video and calling app, it's hard to believe there's been no tablet-specific version. Google just rectified that with the release of Duo versions for both iPad and Android tablets. That could entice some iOS users with Android friends to switch, as rival app Hangouts is still limited to Apple's walled garden.
iOS 12 won't launch with FaceTime group chats
We hope you weren't planning a group FaceTime chat the very moment iOS 12 and macOS Mojave reached your devices. The release notes for Apple's latest iOS 12 and Mojave developer betas reveal that group FaceTime won't be available in either operating system on launch, and will instead arrive in an update "later this fall." Much like Apple Pay Cash, you could be waiting weeks or months to try the tent pole feature.
iOS 12 public beta is available right now
Did Apple's teases of grouped notifications and digital wellness efforts at WWDC last month make you swoon? Well the beta for iOS 12 -- the software those features and countless others will run on -- is available to the public starting today. The Cupertino company has promised that the software's finished version will significantly speed up older phones in addition to adding fun new features like Memoji for iPhone X owners and FaceTime group chat for up to 32 people.
Apple's FaceTime offers group chats for up to 32 people
During its rundown of updates for iOS at WWDC, Apple revealed that FaceTime will soon support group video calls. But that's not the best part. Inside those group chats, the app will allow you to coordinate meetups with up to 32 people. That's one hell of a conference call.
Apple’s Animojis may come to iPad and FaceTime this fall
Apple's biggest software updates are always scheduled for a single fall release and today Bloomberg reports on some new features that we can look forward to later this year. First up, third-party apps will be able to work across iPhones, iPads and Mac computers -- a feature we've heard talk of before and will involve both iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. Additionally, the iPhone X's Animojis will be getting an upgrade, with new characters and a better menu reportedly on the way as well as the ability to use them in FaceTime. And they won't be relegated to the iPhone X for much longer. Bloomberg says Apple is working on a new iPad that will have the Face ID camera, allowing iPad users to play with Animojis as well.
Apple ordered to pay $440 million to FaceTime patent troll
VirnetX's seemingly endless FaceTime patent lawsuit against Apple is winding down... sort of. An Eastern District of Texas court has denied all of Apple's motions to end the case in a non-infringement ruling or retrial, leaving the tech giant with a final judgment that orders it to pay VirnetX $439.7 million. That's much more than the $302.4 million Apple was told to pay last year. VirnetX, widely considered a patent troll, is unsurprisingly "elated" at having won its third jury battle against Apple. However, it can't really rest on its laurels -- that judgment isn't as final as it seems at first blush.
