The Internet gives people unprecedented opportunities. Today, like never before, we can turn to the Web for any information and get it instantly: in the hands of mankind is the world's largest collection of music, films and books. We are always up to date with the latest events and store documents in the form of computer files. But, most importantly, the Internet erases the boundaries and distances between people, allowing you to communicate online, regardless of location, which is why instant messengers and VoIP call services such as Skype or Face Time are so popular on the Web.
Face Time: what is it?
Face Time is a technology that allows you to establish video or audio communication between electronic devices that support it (referring to Apple gadgets).
The technology was first demonstrated by Steve Jobs during the presentation of the fourth-generation iPhone. Right on the stage, he showed how video chat works using the front and main camera of the phone. Then Steve said about the “Face Time”, that this is the highest quality and safest way to contact relatives and friends. In the future, this technology also migrated to other devices of the company, including the second-generation iPad and older, Mac computers with a FaceTime camera and iPod touch players .
The peculiarity of this service is the unprecedented quality of video and audio.
Initially, this service allowed you to make calls only using Wi-Fi, which was extremely negatively perceived by the public, given the fact that during the launch 3G coverage was developed. Later, in 2012, at the presentation of the fifth-generation iPhone, Apple announced that Face Time would work via mobile Internet.
Another important moment in the development of technology was the appearance of audio calls, presented in 2013 along with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks.
How to set up Face Time?
This service requires an iCloud account. To create it, it is enough to register an Apple ID, which all users without exception do to activate the device. You can create an account in iTunes or when you first turn on the gadget.
On Mac computers, creating an account is enough to enable FaceTime in the future. On iOS, the setup process involves one more step. How to set up Face Time on an iPhone? On the phone, this service needs to be activated. To do this, go to Settings> FaceTime and enable the toggle switch.
To establish a connection with a specific subscriber, you need to know his phone number (if one is attached) or Apple ID. Face Time also pulls up data from your address book: those users who already use Face Time will appear in the corresponding application and will be available for calling.
Opportunities
At the moment, the service allows you to establish communication between two devices using Wi-Fi, as well as 3G and LTE networks.
Face Time uses the H264 and AAC (Apple Audio Codec) standards to provide the best communication quality, as well as RTP and SRTP - data encryption methods that provide maximum security to users.
The service operates on a free basis, and customers pay only for Internet traffic.
Limitations
Unfortunately, as is often the case with Apple, this technology has a number of limitations. These include:
- A maximum of two devices can participate in a conversation.
- Long connection time (planned to be eliminated in 2016).
- Cannot switch from video to audio call.
- The ban on use in a number of countries (Russia is not among them).
Because of these shortcomings, one can often hear criticism of Face Time, which is just a miserable Skype tracing-paper. However, many users do not take into account the high quality of communication and full encryption, which is not available in most other services.
Instead of a conclusion
Now the reader has become aware of another useful and convenient service from Apple. After reading this material, there should be no questions regarding Face Time: what it is, how to configure the service, and how to use it. So, it's time to move from theory to practice and call someone close right now, because it's completely free.