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Today in Apple history: iOS 4 brings FaceTime and multitasking

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Next year's iPhone could resemble the classic iPhone 4.
iOS 4 brought important new features to iPhones and the recently released iPad.
Photo: Yutaka Tsutano/Ste Smith

June 21: Today in Apple history: Apple releases iOS 4, which brings multitasking and FaceTime June 21, 2010: Apple releases iOS 4, which introduces a range of productivity features as well as the FaceTime videotelephony service.

iOS 4 represents a big step forward for Apple’s flourishing mobile devices. Due to the arrival of the first-gen iPad earlier in the year, iOS 4 also brings a transition from the mobile operating system’s original name, “iPhone OS.”

Today in Apple history: iPhone 4 preorders set an impressive record

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Steve obs
The iPhone 4 wound up selling 1.7 million units in its first weekend.
Photo: Matthew Yohe/Wikipedia CC

June 16: Today in Apple history: Apple receives record preorders for iPhone 4 June 16, 2010: Apple reports a massive surge of interest in iPhone 4, with 600,000 sales on the first day of preorders.

The company calls the number “far higher” than expected. At the time, it’s the most iPhone preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T suffers server problems thanks to the demand — with 10 times the usual traffic on its website. It’s proof positive that Apple is onto a winner!

Hands-on: All iPads get these great new iPadOS 16 features

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Hands-on: All iPads get these great new iPadOS 16 features
Improved Files and Mail apps are just a couple of the great new iPadOS 16 features coming to non-M1 iPads.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

There’s more to iPadOS 16 than floating app windows. The Files app gets some significant improvements in the upcoming upgrade. There’s a Weather app and great new features in the Mail and Messages apps. Plus, you can hand off a FaceTime call between your Apple computers.

These enhancements are available to every iPad that supports iPadOS 16, which is currently in developer beta. So don’t think there’s nothing coming this fall for tablets without an Apple M1 processor. That’s just not true.

Continuity Camera brings iPhone optics to macOS

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Craig using Camera Continuity on macOS
It might look a little silly, but Camera Continuity could be a huge win for video calls AND video streaming
Photo: Apple
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

Continuity Camera, a new feature coming in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, will upgrade video calls by bringing the iPhone’s pristine camera to the Mac.

“With Continuity Camera, you can use iPhone as your webcam,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering, during Monday’s live-streamed WWDC22 keynote. “It’s powered by the advanced capabilities of the iPhone camera system, letting you do things that were never before possible with a webcam.”

Wristcam adds new video calling feature to Apple Watch

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Wristcam adds FaceTime-like video calling to Apple Watch.
Wristcam adds FaceTime-like video calling to Apple Watch.
Photo: Wristcam

Wristcam, the camera-equipped Apple Watch band, now features FaceTime-like video calling, the company said Thursday.

The accessory initially launched in December 2020 with an 8-megapixel camera and a 2MP selfie camera. It was the first watch-band camera to receive the “Made for Apple Watch” designation.

Leaked ‘final’ EU antitrust bill looks bad for Apple

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The European Union takes another step toward rough regulations on tech giants like Apple.
The European Union takes another step toward tough regulations on tech giants like Apple.
Photo: Freestocks.org

The European Union may force Apple to make big changes to its App Store as well as services like FaceTime and Messages, if a leaked version of an EU antitrust proposal becomes law.

The draft is said to be the “final version” of the Digital Markets Act, provisionally approved by EU regulators in March. It seeks to restrict how tech giants operate in order to foster greater competition.

How to enable wide spectrum audio for FaceTime calls in iOS 15

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Enable wide spectrum audio for FaceTime calls
Make sure everyone gets heard on a conference call.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

iOS and iPadOS 15 bring a number of nice improvements to FaceTime, including some new audio modes that may come in handy in certain situations.

The new wide spectrum audio is one you might want to use during conference calls. Here’s what it does — and how to enable it on iPhone and iPad.

How to enable background blur for FaceTime video calls in iOS 15

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How to enable background blur for FaceTime video calls in iOS 15
Use Portrait mode to bring background blur to FaceTime on iPhone and iPad.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

iOS and iPadOS 15 bring a number of big improvements to FaceTime — including voice isolation and the ability to blur your background during video calls like you can on Zoom and other video calling platforms.

We’ll show you how to enable the background blur feature using Portrait mode on iPhone and iPad.

How to enable voice isolation for FaceTime calls in iOS 15

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Enable voice isolation for FaceTime
Keep kids' voices out of your remote meetings.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Remote meetings on FaceTime are a lot calmer in iOS and iPadOS 15, thanks to a feature called voice isolation that blocks out background noise. Even better, the feature works in other video-calling applications, including Zoom and Google Duo.

Here’s how you can enable it on iPhone and iPad.