New FaceTime Features in MacOS Monterey

MacOs Monterey premiered last October, bringing a bunch of new options and features. Let’s see what new touches were added to Apple’s #1 messenger.

First, you can apply bokeh effect during live calls. This know-how blurs your background, focusing the attention solely on you. The feature is available as part of the Portrait mode.

To use it:

• Go to Control Center in the menu bar, select Video Effects, and choose Portrait 
• Or tap the tile and open the Video Effects menu.

Now you can disguise the mess in the background aesthetically.

Then, the update brought some GUI changes too. The grid view has been altered: now the tiles, into which the speakers are “put”, have the same size. Plus, whenever someone talks, their respective tile gets highlighted. 

The audio component has seen some changes too. Now there are three modes available:

• Spatial Audio.
• Voice Isolation.
• Wide Spectrum.

Spatial Audio adds a real-presence effect to the conversation. When one of the call participants speaks, sound comes from their “position” on the grid, the same way as if they were standing near you in real life.

Wide Spectrum captures the entire sound image of the place you’re in, including background noises. And with Voice Isolation, the app filters out unwanted noise, allowing the listener to focus on what you say more efficiently.

Another cool trick is the FaceTime Links. Similar to Zoom links, they allow you to invite a person to a call/group chat even if they don’t have an Apple gadget. It’s available via a browser, so joining a FaceTime convo is possible from Windows and probably even from Linux.

Moreover, via SharePlay you can watch movies, shows, and other videos together with friends right in FT.

MacOS Monterey delivered a whole gift bag of neat features this autumn. Which is your favorite? And which ones does it miss? Let us know in the comments!