iOS 27 Improves FaceTime in Three Ways, Including Dual Capture

[MacRumors]

iOS 27 includes three enhancements for FaceTime, with the most notable one being a dual camera feature on some newer iPhone models.

On the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, a Dual Capture feature allows you to record video of yourself and what is in front of you at the same time. Starting with iOS 27, this feature is now supported in the FaceTime app on these devices, allowing you to show both your front and rear camera views on a video call.

9to5Mac tested the feature on the iOS 27 beta, as seen in the screenshot below. Tapping on the camera flip button in the bottom-left corner of the viewfinder automatically turns on Dual Capture mode and begins showing the rear camera view alongside the front camera view. You can turn off the front camera view at any time if you prefer to.

If the person on the other end of the call has an older iPhone, they can still view your dual camera feed as long as their device is running iOS 27.

The other two FaceTime improvements on iOS 27:

• Improved FaceTime quality on poor connections
• Live Captions are now available in Traditional Chinese

iOS 27 is currently available in developer beta, with a public beta to follow in July. The update is expected to be released widely in September.

Article Link: iOS 27 Improves FaceTime in Three Ways, Including Dual Capture

 

[Slix]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

 

[AstroRexaur]

Apple needs to fix the audio cutting off constantly on the other side if im not muted.

 

[EugW]

This is good for me. I'm on a 17 Pro, and my entire family will be able to support iOS 27: 12 Pro Max, 14 Pro Max, 16e.

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

I'm guessing probably mostly a marketing decision, but maybe also partially due to performance issues on much older models. eg. I wonder if our 12 Pro Max can do this comfortably without heating up. I would have guessed yes, but I'm not sure.

 

[I7guy]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

I believe its a hardware limitation.

 

[Dr McKay]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

Feels like it to me too, LG and Samsung had this feature for video recording back in 2013.

 

[Parowdy]

Why the dark mode 27 icon on a dark background next to the light FaceTime icon?
You almost had a dark mode friendly header but then decided not to.

 

[EpleSmeple43]

Why the dark mode 27 icon on a dark background next to the light FaceTime icon?
You almost had a dark mode friendly header but then decided not to.

Attention to detail is not this website's forte

 

[svish]

Good improvements. Dual capture is good. On a separate note, I would like to see dual photo capture in addition to dual video recording introduced last year. Improved video quality in poor connections is great.

 

[Johnny907]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

Because it is. As I pointed out elsewhere, 3rd Party apps have been taking advantage of front and rear cams at the same time for years and there is zero functional reason why this is exclusive to the very latest phones only other than Apple greed.

 

[DanteHicks79]

Anyone else remember that the 15 Pro/Pro Max was supposed to support dual capture when that phone was announced? Anyone?

 

[CalMin]

I believe its a hardware limitation.

Then it's down to how Apple is implementing it because I've been using the Double-Take app on my iPhone 15 Pro for years now and it supports 4K at 60hz.

Somewhat cynically, I think this is one of those situations where Apple is differentiating hardware generations through software vs. technical limitations.

DoubleTake - Multicam video App - App Store

Download DoubleTake - Multicam video by Bending Spoons Apps ApS on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like DoubleTake…

apps.apple.com

 

[businessnumbersmoneypeopl]

I don't know anyone who would use FaceTime and never really understood it. Perhaps it's useful within a family. But other than that, it seems like a headache to keep tabs on which friends or acquaintances use iPhones and who are on Android, when ubiquitous third-party options do exist that work across ecosystems.

 

[I7guy]

Then it's down to how Apple is implementing it because I've been using the Double-Take app on my iPhone 15 Pro for years now and it supports 4K at 60hz.

Somewhat cynically, I think this is one of those situations where Apple is differentiating hardware generations through software vs. technical limitations.

DoubleTake - Multicam video App - App Store

Download DoubleTake - Multicam video by Bending Spoons Apps ApS on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like DoubleTake…

apps.apple.com

I believe Apple evaluated the level of performance and service and if it is not acceptable to them, they cut it.

That doesn’t mean the double-take app isn’t acceptable to you. But dual cameras on the 15 may not cut it for Apple.

 

[Neepman]

Too bad it needed to be improved in about 25 ways.

 

[wonderings]

All I want them to add is the ability to use the wide angle lens when using my iPhone as a camera during FaceTime calls. Weekly I use FaceTime when connecting with a friend via FaceTime and the normal rear camera just covers my room. If I could use the wide angle it would be perfect, not sure why they limit the camera in this way with FaceTime. Other then that the ability to use your iPhone as a camera is an amazing feature.

 

[fatTribble]

I don't know anyone who would use FaceTime and never really understood it. Perhaps it's useful within a family. But other than that, it seems like a headache to keep tabs on which friends or acquaintances use iPhones and who are on Android, when ubiquitous third-party options do exist that work across ecosystems.

I have one friend who has an Android phone.
All of my friends and family have iPhones.
I use FaceTime most days.
But everyone is different.

 

[name99]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

The "transmit" side of this feature requires BOTH cameras to be active simultaneously. Which implies enough bandwidth, enough ISP capacity, enough video encode capacity.
Older phones probably just don't have the HW for at least one of these three.

 

[name99]

Then it's down to how Apple is implementing it because I've been using the Double-Take app on my iPhone 15 Pro for years now and it supports 4K at 60hz.

Somewhat cynically, I think this is one of those situations where Apple is differentiating hardware generations through software vs. technical limitations.

DoubleTake - Multicam video App - App Store

Download DoubleTake - Multicam video by Bending Spoons Apps ApS on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like DoubleTake…

apps.apple.com

Double Take shows that something that *looks* like this feature can be done.
It doesn't show that it can be done *well*.

For example
- do we know that Double Take can compress down to the bit rates Apple targets for FaceTime?

- a lot of the Double Take reviews are of the form "kinda works but randomly breaks" which suggests that something in the HW is not quite happy with this setup. For example there may be some sort of conflict between the dual uses of the ISP (which should be separated by a lock or whatever), and while it works most of the time, every hour or so there is the chance of a register write collision and the ISP just goes dead until it is restarted.

 

[Parowdy]

Anyone else remember that the 15 Pro/Pro Max was supposed to support dual capture when that phone was announced? Anyone?

No, actually. Any source to a video or such? Would be very interested.

 

[Parowdy]

The "transmit" side of this feature requires BOTH cameras to be active simultaneously. Which implies enough bandwidth, enough ISP capacity, enough video encode capacity.
Older phones probably just don't have the HW for at least one of these three.

I don’t know. Remember the iPhone X keynote? Apple literally had third party developers on stage to showcase their double take app. So to some degree it was already possible 9 whole years ago.

 

[CalMin]

Double Take shows that something that *looks* like this feature can be done.
It doesn't show that it can be done *well*.

For example
- do we know that Double Take can compress down to the bit rates Apple targets for FaceTime?

- a lot of the Double Take reviews are of the form "kinda works but randomly breaks" which suggests that something in the HW is not quite happy with this setup. For example there may be some sort of conflict between the dual uses of the ISP (which should be separated by a lock or whatever), and while it works most of the time, every hour or so there is the chance of a register write collision and the ISP just goes dead until it is restarted.

I may have linked the wrong app here. The one I have on my phone is DoubleTake from Filmic Pro - although it seems they were bought by this company which now charges money (Filmic Pro released the app free!) and seemingly has some bad reviews.

I can only speak from my own experience and I've filmed several motorcycle rides at 4K60 using this app on an iPhone 13 Pro and my 15 Pro Max. It works flawlessly for me whether I do PiP or record both inputs as separate files. The longest ride I shot was about 45 minutes and the phone handled it just fine. (I have a 1TB phone because I use it for video podcasts)

I can't argue for or against your points about bit rates here, but what I can say is that the output was good enough for 4K YouTube and thus, for me at least, it should be good enough for FaceTime calls.

If Apple is implementing something superior that my phone can't handle then so be it. My point was that it IS technically feasible - because an App loaded on my iPhone 15 right now, can do it!

 

[robfoll]

I don't know anyone who would use FaceTime and never really understood it. Perhaps it's useful within a family. But other than that, it seems like a headache to keep tabs on which friends or acquaintances use iPhones and who are on Android, when ubiquitous third-party options do exist that work across ecosystems.

90% of my peer group and colleagues use iPhone. Just the rare oddball on Android and they get left out of things.

 

[eifelbube]

Why is this feature not available on every device capable of running iOS 27? This feels like the group FaceTime limitation all over again.

I believe its a hardware limitation.

How so? Where would that limitation be on an M.3.4.5 iPad Pro?
I suspect Apple identified many users with M. iPads who still cling to their iPhones 11-15 😊 .