FaceTime is getting Android support, but there’s a catch

At WWDC 2021 today, Apple announced that its popular FaceTime video call service will be getting a ton of new features, but one in particular caught our attention: Android compatibility. Sort of.

Apple will allow non-iOS users to join FaceTime calls directly via the browser in the future, meaning Android compatibility. Apple implicitly called this out during a larger announcement of major changes for FaceTime, showing an Android phone (with comically outdated notch and gesture nav — subtle dig, guys) and a Windows laptop as examples of compatible devices.

An Android app would obviously be preferable, but any kind of interoperability for Apple services on the platform remains rare. Apple Music is one such service, though Apple’s goal there is far more transparent (revenue). Bringing FaceTime calls to Android, even through a web browser, is a significant departure for the company’s strategies to date. Whether that means more Android compatibility news for other Apple products is on the way, it’s hard to yet say. But this is undoubtedly a good thing that’ll make staying in touch with your iOS-first friends a bit easier.