Today, Apple released the seventh developer betas of macOS Mojave, iOS 12, watchOS 5, and tvOS 12. However, the releases came with some possibly disappointing news for those of us who were looking to FaceTime with multiple people at once as soon as the new operating systems drop in the near future.
According to the betas' notes to developers shared by Guilherme Rambo, Group FaceTime won't be available upon iOS 12 and macOS Mojave's initial release. Apparently, the highly promoted feature "has been removed from the initial release of iOS 12 and will ship in a future software update later this fall." Group FaceTime has been present in all the prior versions of the betas up to this point, and Apple has yet to give any further clarification regarding the deferment.
Once the feature is actually released to the public, users will be able to have face-to-face convos with up to 32 people at once by entering multiple contacts in the recipient field before placing a call. Once on the call, all participants will show up in a group of tiles that can be individually selected and made full-screen. What's more, if you're using the feature on iOS, you'll also be able to utilize FaceTime's face-tracking Animoji, filters, and more while chatting with your group.
Thoughts?
Are you disappointed that Group FaceTime won't be included in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave from day one, or are you willing to wait if it means a better product? Are you unbothered either way? Are you grateful for the extra time to make 32 friends you can chat with? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
