How To Zoom In On FaceTime
Like it or not, technology has become an integral part of the way we communicate. Of course, now a person living in one country can virtually see and speak to close friends all over the world. This can be done with the use of platforms such as Zoom and Skype, but many people simply prefer to use FaceTime on a supported device.
FaceTime has changed a great deal since its inception back in June of 2010, and the updates are still happening, according to CNET. One is the ability to zoom in on FaceTime calls. Some may ask why this is a needed feature, but there are many people who either currently use it or would like to know how to zoom in on calls to provide a closer look at the person they're calling. For example, pretend you're on a call with your buddy and they want to show you a picture during the call. Sure, they could just text it to you, but perhaps they want to share that moment with you. After all, keeping people connected in intimate ways is what this technology is about — or at least it can be.
As in most instances when using Apple devices, zooming in on a FaceTime call is incredibly easy. Also like many aspects of Apple products, however, the company has not been super forthcoming with details of the existence of this feature or how to use it.
Here's how to zoom in on FaceTime
Zooming in on a FaceTime call is a step so simple you'll wonder why you weren't aware of it before. Essentially, zooming in while using FaceTime works the same way it does with the camera app. If you're unfamiliar, you can zoom in on a relatively distant object simply by using the pinch method.
To zoom in, you pinch out. This is the opposite of if you were pinching something. So, instead of closing your fingertips together, you are pulling them apart on the screen until you have zoomed in on the desired object. Zooming in for FaceTime works the same way. This is because FaceTime is simply using the camera on your phone to function, which means pretty much any feature available in the camera app should be usable in FaceTime. Apple's use of multiple cameras in recent years has made it much easier for them to implement zooming in on FaceTime calls, even if it's not necessarily a feature the company has made people aware of.
When you can't zoom in on FaceTime
Although the ability to zoom in on FaceTime calls is an incredibly useful feature, it's not always possible. Looking to zoom in while using FaceTime on your Mac? Simply put, you can't. We know that many people prefer using their Macs for video calls instead of a mobile device, but the feature simply isn't yet available on Apple computers.
There are valid reasons why. One of the biggest is the camera quality. While most laptops have pretty decent cameras as of late, they simply are not up to par with what's found in most smartphones, according to CNET. This makes it harder to not only functionally zoom in, but also to get a clear picture of the object you want to magnify. Perhaps someday soon we'll be able to zoom in on FaceTime calls while using our MacBooks.
Besides this, you can't zoom in on FaceTime if you are using the front-facing camera. As we said earlier, FaceTime mostly has the same abilities as your standard camera app on the iPhone. So since you can't zoom in on pictures taken using the front-facing camera, the same is true for when you're using FaceTime. This isn't the end of the world as most things people would zoom in on would be in front of them and not behind, but many people see this as another case of Apple determining what people need instead of just letting certain abilities exist in their devices.